Reef Wetsuits SA National Junior Surfing Champs
Presented by Ocean & Earth SA

Surfing South Africa
St Michaels on Sea, KZN South Africa
1 - 5 October 2008

Surfing South Africa's premier national junior tournament

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 September, 2008 : - - The 2008 Reef SA National Junior Surfing Championships presented by Ocean & Earth SA get under way at St Mikes on the KZN South Coast on Wednesday (October 1) when eight teams of surfers representing seven provinces as well as a South African Development Academy Team will participate in the 13th edition of this premier Surfing South Africa tournament.

The 2008 South African Junior Championships marks a significant milestone in South African surfing history. In supporting the event Reef SA will become the first sponsor in the history of South African surfing to be involved in every single national team tournament in the same year.

They are the sponsors of the South African Grommet Games, which were held in Port Elizabeth over Easter, the SA Masters Championships held in East London in June, the South African Championships in Victoria Bay in August and the South African Schools Championships scheduled for Cape Town at the end of October.

Their involvement in the National Junior Championships means a full house for this Cape based organisation. Having first opened their cheque book in 1990 Reef SA remains the longest running sponsor of South African surfing. In another first, Southern KZN Surfing Association, which was founded in 1971, will host the junior championships and the 200 or so surfers and eight teams for the first time.

Western Province make the long journey to Southern KZN as the holders of the Freedom Cup after winning the team title back from KZN in Port Elizabeth last year. KZN have been training hard and have even held a training camp at the venue which shows how determined they are to bring the trophy back to Durban while Eastern Province will be hoping to build on their SA Championships win in Victoria Bay a month ago.

Boland travel to St Mikes with a well balanced side while Southern Cape, Border, hosts Southern KZN and the Development Academy Team have the talent to surprise in a number of the divisions.

2008 will see the crowning of a new U18 Boys Champion as 2007 winner Klee Strachan has moved out of the division. Surfers who could challenge for the title are Brendon Gibbens and Matthew Bromley of WP, Dale Staples of Southern Cape, Brett Palmboom of Southern KZN  as well as Chad Du Toit and Shawn Dennis of KZN.

Tarryn Chudleigh of WP will be at St Mikes to defend her Under 18 Girls title but can expect tough competition from former champion and fellow SA Team member Chantelle Rautenbach of Boland. The two rivals will have to repack their bags immediately after the SA Junior Championships as they join the South African Team which leaves for Portugal on October 7 to compete in the ISA World Surfing Games.

Chudleigh and Rautenbach might be in the SA Team but they will face solid opposition from Kirsty Delport of KZN, 2007 Under 16 champion Alice Mc Gregor of Border and Faye Zoetmulder of EP.

In the Under 16 Boys division Mikey February, Davey Brand and JC Susan of WP, Dane Staples of Southern Cape, Beyrick de Vries, Devin Lane and David Van Zyl of KZN and Jacob Mellish of Boland are the pick of a highly talented crop while in the U16 Girls division the smart money will be on Bianca Buitendag of Southern Cape, Heidi Palmboom of KZN, Tanika Hoffman or Holly Armstrong of WP.

The 2008 Under 14 Boys champion will come from the group comprising Steven Sawyer and Dylan Lightfoot of EP, Slade Prestwich and Joshua Smit of KZN, Jarred Veldhuis of WP and Phillip Visagie and Diran Zakarian of Boland while Sarah Baum of KZN is the odds on favourite in the Under 14 Girls group.

Simo Mkhize of Southern KZN, JJ Harris of KZN, Matthew McGillivray of EP, and the two WP surfers Benji Brand and defending champion Max Armstrong should provide all the action in the Under 12 Boys division. There are five Under 12 Girls competing in their own division in the event.

While all the surfers will be aiming to reach the finals and bag a medal, the SA Junior Championships is all about achieving team honours and winning the Freedom Cup. Every surfer in the event contributes to the total team score even if they are eliminated early in the championships and the winning provincial team is decided right at the end of the event based on the highest aggregate score.

The opening function of the 2008 Reef SA National Junior Championships presented by Ocean & Earth SA takes place on Tuesday September 30 at Margate Hotel at 7pm. The heats get under way at 7.30 am on Wednesday October 1 and the finals and Award Ceremony will take place at St Mikes on Sunday October 5.

Previous reports:
# 1 : Coming soon
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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