First SA Stand Up Surfing Champs for Surf City

Last year’s SUP Carnival Champion Brandon Ribbink (Morningside, Durban) will be looking to retain his title at the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel this year and has been putting in a lot of practice for this year's event. Ribbink and a host of top SUP competitors have set their sights on being selected for the ISA SUP World Champs for 2013 as the Durban Surf Carnival will select the South African team for this world title event.

Photographer: Paul Godwin/Nerve Events








First SA Stand Up Surfing Champs for Surf City

From humble beginnings that started with a few pioneer Stand Up Paddleboarders back in 2007, the sport of Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Surfing has exploded on the South African Scene especially in the Western Cape. As part of the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel the second SUPSA (Stand Up Paddle South Africa) SA Wave Riding Champs will form an important part of the festival which takes place from the 15th to 17th June 2012 at the New Pier in Durban.

SUP essentially requires the surfer to remain standing all the time and when riding a wave the surfer uses the paddle for direction and balance; the surfers is judged overall on elements of Shortboard and Longboard surfing maneuvers.

The very first SUPSA (Stand Up Paddle South Africa) SA Champs took place in Cape Town last year; organizers of the Durban Surf Carnival have already received over 20 entries from surfers in the Western Cape.

The local Durban SUP community are looking forward to having the upper hand of local knowledge and last year's Carnival Champion Brandon Ribbink (Morningside, Durban) and top SUP surfer Grant Roberts (Durban) will both be eyeing the open title and the opportunity to stand a chance to be selected for the 2013 ISA World Surfing Games.

“The standard of SUP surfing from 2007 to today is unbelievable! We all started out on 12ft boards and now most of the guys are riding boards in the 8 to 9ft range which makes the surfing extreme and the moves spectacular,” commented Paul Godwin from Nerve Events.

Stand Up Paddle South Africa (SUPSA) is proud to be associated with the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel.  South Africa’s elite Stand Up Paddle Surfers from around the country will converge on the Durban beachfront this winter to showcase the sport at the iconic New Pier, the event is a SUPSA sanctioned contest and the SUPSA objective is to crown the winners as the South African SUP Surf National Champion in the Men and Women's open divisions.
The winners will be eligible for squad selection to represent South African at the forthcoming 2013 International Surfing Association Stand Up Paddle World Championships.  Stand Up Paddle South Africa is affiliated to Surfing South Africa. Entry forms can be downloaded from http://nerveevents.blogspot.com/   For any SUPSA related queries, please contact Brigette on 083 225 2052 or secretary@supsa.org.za

The Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel also features a top rated Longboard and Waveski event as well as the the ‘Snapshot’ Photographic competition. The photographic competition provides an opportunity for amateur and professional photographers to win fantastic prizes courtesy of Jeep Apparel and the Independent on Saturday newspaper.

Sponsors of the Durban Surf Carnival include the City of Durban - Durban “the warmest place to be”, Jeep Apparel, and Independent on Saturday

Support Sponsors : Red Bull, Thule, Naish SUP, Natural Curve Surfboards, Nestle Pure Life Water, Bokomo. Container Conversions, Mad Dog Surf School, Maisch Fins, Nescafe, Pro Class Wetsuits. Thermo Plastic Concepts & Equipment (TCE)

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