Dylan Lightfoot and Emma Smith of Jeffreys Bay will represent South Africa in the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships at Playa Venao in Panama from 14-29 April 2012.
Lightfoot earns his third cap while for Smith it’s cap number two.
The Board of Directors of Surfing South Africa ratified the selection of caps. The surfers were selected from the 2011 SA Junior Championships and a trial held in Durban recently.
There are seven new caps. New caps in the boys divisions are South African Under 17 Champion Josh Smit and fellow Durban surfer Mikey Venter, 2011 South African Under15 Champion Max Armstrong of Scarborough, Matthew McGillivray of Port Elizabeth and Steffen Burrows of Stellenbosch. Chanelle Botha of Warner Beach and Nicole Pallet of Durban are the two new caps in the U18 Girls division.
Besides Lightfoot another surfer to earn his third cap is the talented Slade Prestwich of Scottburgh. Both will compete in the U18 division. Benji Brand of Kommetjie earns his second cap in the U16 division.
The current U17 SA Champion Sarah Baum of Athlone Park earns an unprecedented fifth cap. She and Smith will compete in the U18 girls group
The full U18 boy’s team is Josh Smit (who qualified as SA U17 Champion), Dylan Lightfoot, Slade Prestwich and Mikey Venter. Brandon Benjamin of Retreat in Cape Town is the official non travelling reserve.
The U18 girls are Sarah Baum (who qualified as SA U17 Champion this year), Emma Smith, Chanelle Botha and Nicole Pallet. Gina Smith of Jeffreys Bay is the official non travelling reserve.
Max Armstrong (qualified as the 2011 SA U15 champion), Benji Brand, Matthew cGillivray and Steffen Burrows make up the U16 group with Simo Mkhize of Umzumbe the official non travelling reserve.
The three official reserves, Benjamin, Mkhize and Smith, will automatically be included in the 2012 SA Junior Invitation team which will compete in the Reunion Challenge in Durban in March.
On arrival in Panama the South African Juniors will take on New Zealand in a “friendly” international. They will be competing for the Lotto SANZ Trophy which will be held for the tenth year in a row in 2012. The teams competing for a unique trophy made from semi precious
New Zealand stone and South African yellow wood. The trophy was first presented in Durban in 2003 and is currently held by South Africa.
More than 30 countries from five continents are set to attend the 2012 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships. The teams will be competing at the same venue where the ISA World Surfing Games were held last year.
The annual tournament determines the World Junior Team Champions, the World Junior ISA Tag Team Champions and medalists in the Under 18 Boys and Girls and Under 16 Boys divisions. South Africa finished second behind hosts Peru in 2011 and returned home with two silver medals and a bronze.
Surfing South Africa is the recognized governing body for the sport and is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the international Surfing Association (ISA). All representative South African teams are ratified by the Board of Directors of Surfing South Africa.
All articles written, all photos taken, plus all adverts designed, by the Editor and printed in the St Francis Chronicle are protected by Copyright. Reproduction or copying of any part of the contents of this newspaper and its concept and design can only be done with the Editor’s written permission.
