Western Province beat hosts Eastern Province and won the coveted Mandela Bay Trophy at the 2012 Billabong SA Grommet Games in Port Elizabeth Sunday (April 8).
It was close though and Western Province had to fight hard to wrest the trophy from the host province (EP) who won it in 2009, 2010 and last year. After counting all the points scored in each of the events that make up the Grommet Games, WP posted a total of 27,645 points while EP came in with 27,111. Kwazulu-Natal Central was third, Southern Cape came fourth, Boland were fifth, Border sixth, Southern KZN seventh and Zululand finished eighth.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Trophy is awarded to the provincial team with the highest combination of scores from the individual surfing results as well as the results from the Tag Team, Paddle Battle and Beach Flags.
More than 120 girls and boys from eight provincial associations took part in the annual event which is Surfing South Africa’s premier entry level inter provincial tournament.
Sponsorship from Billabong and funding support from Sport and Recreation South Africa and the Lotto ensured that the 20th SA Grommet Games was a huge success once again. The event remains one of the highlights of the annual Surfing South Africa event calendar.
The tournament got off to a great start at the opening function held in the Amphitheatre at the Boardwalk on Wednesday April 4 when the teams were addressed by two National team members, Tarryn Chudleigh and Dale Staples, who spoke about the importance of representing provincial and national teams. Both surfers began their careers as 10 year olds surfing in national junior contests at the Pipe in Port Elizabeth.
During the event competitors enjoyed good offshore conditions, endured rainy onshore surf and had to battle strong to gale force winds but there were no complaints.
Thanks to the efforts of hosts, EP Surfing Council, under the guidance of President Johnny Bakker, event Secretary Shirley Fairall and other support staff, Contest Director Brian Abrahams, Head Judge Brad Beck and Surfing South Africa’s Tasha Mentasti, the tournament was completed without a hitch.
Boland were awarded the Best Team Trophy for their energy, enthusiasm and support of not only their own team members but of the contest as a whole, while Western Province claimed a double by beating Eastern Province in the Tag team final where Border came third and KZN Central took fourth place. KZN Central won the Surfing Trophy for posting the highest points in the surfing category alone.
In the individual surfing categories, the exciting and incredibly talented Ntando Msibi (KZNC) won the premier Under 16 Boys final and was named Surfer of the Contest for his outstanding surfing. Peter Coffey had to settle for second while fellow EP surfer Bernhardt Pretorius was third and Birk Jorgensen (WP) came fourth.
Samantha Sutton (WP) won the Under 16 Girls title when she beat Michelle Verreynne (S/Cape) into second place. Jayde Lamb (KZNC) was third and Caroline Van der Merwe (S/Cape) came fourth. The Under 14 Boys victory went the way of Alex Van Rijswick (EP) with Kayla-Anne Verreynne (S/Cape) taking the Under 14 Girls gold medal. Julien Zens (Bol) won the Under 12 Boys final, Olivia Izzard (KZNC) earned the Under 12 Girls title, Ruben Voster (S/Cape) won the Under 10 final and James Ribbink took honours in the Under 8 final.
Ntando Msibi, Gabriel Kriel (Bor), Peter Coffey, Birk Jorgensen and Kayla-Anne Verreynne all won a Billabong certificate and Palmers wax as the surfers who posted the best wave of the day during the event. Kayla – Anne Verreynne also won the Da Kine gift pack as the surfer who posted the Highest Heat Score of the contest. Loyiso Ngcungama (SKZN) took home a Billabong back-pack for producing the Best Manoeuvre of the Contest while diminutive Tide-Lee Ireland (KZNC) not only won the inaugural Von Zipper Air show but was also presented with the Sportsmanship Award.
Senhlanhla Makhubu (KZNC) won the Junior Girls Beach Flags and Loyiso Ngcungama (SKZN) took honours in the Junior Boys Flags. In the Senior Girls Flags Tamlyn Gill (EP) came out on top with Marchall Nortje (S/Cape) winning the Senior Boys Flags gold medal. Samantha Sutton (WP) won the Girls Paddle Battle and Paul Van Rijswick (EP) took gold when he won the Boys Paddle Battle.
The SA Grommet Games is a tournament with a primary focus on transformation and development within the sport, and provincial structures are set strict criteria when selecting their teams for the four days of competition. While the main focus of the event is on surfing, participation in events such as a Paddle Battle, Beach Flags and Tag Team is also included in the activities.
This year participants were able to use a specially designed skateboard ramp courtesy of Element and were able to win prizes in the Sector 9 poker run. An Easter egg and treasure hunt were also part of the four day programme.
The tournament is also used to identify and reward surfers who excel during the surfing contest and each year Surfing South Africa names a South African Development Academy Squad.
2012 SA Development Academy Squad:
BOYS : Ntando Msibi (KZNC),Peter Coffey (EP), Bernhardt Pretorius (EP), Birk Jorgensen (WP), David Garcia (WP), Jelina Sithole (SKZN), Lutho Ngquba (KZNC), Alex Van Rijswick (EP), Sebastian Bidoli (WP), Ghotso Khesa(KZNC), Riel Viviers (SC), Manqoba Dladla (SKZN), Lwandile Ngcungama (SKZN), Gabriel Fernandes (WP), Julien Zens (Bol), Redd Valentino-Debray (WP), Andreas Lubanjana (SKZN).
GIRLS : Samantha Sutton (WP), Michelle Verreynne (SC), Aishah Abrahams (EP), Samkeliswe Cele (KZNC), Kayla-Anne Verreynne (SC), Zama Japha (KZNC), Ibtehaj Jaylanie (EP), Tamlyn Gill (EP).
MANAGERS : Paul Izzard (KZNC), Babara Johnson (WP)
COACH : Roger Vuuanza (WP)
2012 BILLABONG SA GROMMET SURFING GAMES supported by Sport and Recreation SA and Lotto
FULL RESULTS
U16 BOYS
1. NTANDO MSIBI – KZNC
2. PETER COFFEY – EP
3. BERNHARDT PRETORIUS – EP
4. BIRK JORGENSEN – WP
U16 GIRLS
1. SAMANTHA SUTTON – WP
2. MICHELLE VERREYNNE – SC
3. JAYDE LAMB – KZNC
4. CAROLINE VAN DER MERWE – SC
U14 BOYS
1. ALEX VAN RIJSWICK – EP
2. SEBASTIAN BIDOLI – WP
3. GHOTSO KHESA – KZNC
4. RIEL VIVIERS – SC
U14 GIRLS
1. KAYLA-ANNE VERREYNNE – SC
2. DANICA STOCKIGT – BOR
3. ZAMA JAPHA – KZNC
4. DANIELLA ARRIGO – KZNC
U12 BOYS
1. JULIEN ZENS – BOL
2. REDD VALENTINO-DEBRAY – WP
3. RYAN LIGHTFOOT – EP
4. KEEGAN SMITH – ZUL
U12 GIRLS
1. OLIVIA IZZARD – KZNC
2. ZOE SMITH – EP
3. FINN MUSSON – BOR
4. BIANCA LAUBSCHER – BOL
5. ANATASSIA PETERSEN – WP
U10
1. RUBEN VOSTER – SC
2. MANOA ROBB – WP
3. YORK VAN JAARSVELDT- WP
4. ANGELO FAULKNER – EP
U8
1. JAMES RIBBINK – KZNC
2. SAMUEL BENNIE – WP
3. LOYISO NGCUNGAMA – SKZN
4. GABRIEL KRIEL – BOR
MANDELA BAY TROPHY
1. WESTERN PROVINCE – 27645
2. EASTERN PROVINCE – 27111
3. KZN CENTRAL – 26986
4. SOUTHERN CAPE – 22996
5. BOLAND – 21316
6. BORDER – 19273
7. SOUTHERN KZN – 16004
8. ZULULAND – 3690
TAG TEAM
1. WP
2. EP
3. BOR
4. KZNC
BEST TEAM TROPHY
BOLAND
SURFING TROPHY
KZN CENTRAL
SURFER OF THE CONTEST: NTANDO MSIBI – KZNC
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: TIDE-LEE IRELAND – KZNC
VON ZIPPER AIRSHOW : TIDE-LEE IRELAND – KZNC
BILLABONG PERFORMANCE AWARDS (TURN OF THE DAY)
DAY 1 : NTANDO MSIBI (KZNC)
DAY 2: GABRIEL KRIEL (BOR)
DAY 3 : PETER COFFEY(EP)
DAY 4 : KAYLA-ANNE VERREYNNE (SC)
DA KINE HIGHEST HEAT SCORE
KAYLA-ANNE VERREYNNE – SC
GIRLS PADDLE BATTLE:
1. SAMANTHA SUTTON – WP.
2. MICHELLE VERREYNNE – SC.
3. KAYLA-ANNE VERREYNNE – SC
BOYS PADDLE BATTLE:
1.PAUL VAN RIJSWICK – EP
2. RIEL VIVIERS – BOL
3. NICHOLAS VAN DER MERWE – BOL
JUNIOR GIRLS FLAGS :
1. SENHLANHLA MAKHUBU -KZNC.
2. ZOE SMITH – EP.
3. FINN MUSSON – BOR
JUNIOR BOYS FLAGS :
1. LOYISO NGCUNGAMA – SKZN.
2. RED VALENTINO-DEBRAY – WP
3. LUCIANO WINDVOGEL – SC
SENIOR GIRLS FLAGS :
1. TAMLYN GILL – EP
2. KAYLA-ANNE VERREYNNE – SC
3. MISHKA STEYN – BOL
SENIOR BOYS FLAGS :
1. MARCHALL NORTJE – SC
2. ROBERT TWEDDLE – WP
3. JAMES MULLER – BOL
