The weather may have been cold and rainy but there was nothing miserable about the waves that were 4-6 foot in the final round of the BloodScan Surf Series at Kitchen Windows, Jeffreys Bay yesterday.
These great surfing conditions enabled the Eastern Cape’s top U13-U17 boys and girls to battle it out for top honours. The U17 boys category was fiercely competitive with BloodScan brand ambassador Steven Sawyer taking both Port Elizabeth event titles and Dylan Lightfoot winning the first event and the final in Jeffreys Bay.
The U17 girl’s category was equally dominated by BloodScan brand ambassador Emma Smith and sister, Gina Smith who notched a solid 1st and 2nd position in every event held to date.
Local youngsters who also put on impressive performances were Kai Woolf from Jeffreys Bay who came first in the U13 girls, followed into 2nd place by Crystal Hulett of St Francis Bay.
“Eastern Province is thrilled to be a part of the BloodScan Surf Series, it has definitely escalated the level of surfing and competition in the Eastern Cape,” commented Johnny Bakker President of Eastern Province Surfing after the event.
Lewis Khoury, MD of BloodScan Africa and Europe, said the BloodScan Jeffreys Bay centre has just been launched and having the finals of the BloodScan Surf Series hosted in Jeffreys Bay was the icing on the cake. “It’s amazing how far this event and the standard of surfing in the Eastern Cape have come in a few months.” He said the Surf Series provided a platform for junior surfers to hone their skills in competitive environments and showcase their talents to the greater surfing community.
“We started our relationship with Surfing South Africa by sponsoring Emma Smith and Steven Sawyer as our lifestyle brand ambassadors.”
He praised the support from Surfing South Africa, Eastern Province Surfing plus the dedication of Laureen Payne. Plus he thanked the sponsors: Billabong, Kustom, Core, Country Feeling, Rvca, Xcel and Wavescape – not only for the prizes but for making the Series an unprecedented success. “We couldn’t have done it without all of them.”
The Surf Series started in May with a launch event in Jeffreys Bay at Kitchen Windows followed by two events in Port Elizabeth over June and July and ends with the final in Jeffreys Bay on 14 August 2011.
Results:
U17 Boys Final: 1st Dylan Lightfoot; 2nd Steven Sawyer; 3rd Jarred Veldhuis; 4th Tobias Schroeder; 5th Daniel Jeggels
U17 Girls Final: 1st Emma Smith (Jbay)l 2nd Gina Smith (Jbay); 3rd Amber Holmes
U15 Boys Final: 1st Josh Chipps (Jbay); 2nd Matthew McGillivray (PE); 3rd Zane Manuel (EP); 4th Tim Baard (EP)
U15 Girls Fina: 1st Tahra Uren (EP); 2nd Britney Linder (PE); 3rd Robyn VD Merwe (PE)
U13 Boys Final: 1st Rewaldo Abersalie (EP); 2nd Jose Faulkner (EP); 3rd Angelo Faulkner (EP); 4th Nico Mund (PE)
U13 Girls Final: 1st Kai Woolf (Jbay); 2nd Crystal Hulett (St Francis Bay); 3rd Zoe Smith (Jbay)
Winners of overall BloodScan Africa Surf Series:
U17 Boys: Steven Sawyer (Jbay); U17 Girls: Emma Smith (Jbay): U15 Girls Tahra Uren (Jbay): U13 Boys; Renaldo Abersalie (Jbay); U13 Girls: Kai Woolf (Jbay).
Eastern Province Team to compete at SA Junior Champs later this year:
U13 Girls: Kai Woolf, Crystal Hulett (Reserve); U13 Boys: Renaldo Abersalie, Jose Faulkner, Angelo Faulkner (Reserve); U15 Girls: Tahra Uren, Britney Linder Robyn VD Merwe (Reserve); U15 Boys: Matthew Mcgillivray, Josh Chipps, Jerry Van Wyk, Tim Baard, Stephano Jontjies (Reserve); U17 Girls: Emma Smith, Gina Smith, Phillipa Linder (Reserve); U17 Boys: Steven Sawyer, Dylan Lightfoot, Jarred Veldhuis, Tobias Schroeder , Daniel Jeggels (Reserve).
Photos: Karen / D-Vine Images
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