Monday, March 4, 2013

Fox Surfer lights up Surf City



 Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffrey's Bay) “Lights Up”  winning back to back titles in the first leg
of the Billabong Junior Series held at Durban’s New Pier this past weekend - Photo credit : Rory Baker

Fox Surfer lights up Surf City

Eighteen year old Fox Team rider Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) set Durban alight this weekend by winning back to back titles in the first leg of the Billabong Junior Series held at Durban’s New Pier.  Dylan having won the Under 18 division  was then given a wild card entry into the Under 20 Division and stunned the crowd by comfortably surfing his way to first place , totalling dominating the older competitors. He ultimately walked off the beach with a cool Fifteen Thousand Rand for his outstanding effort. This puts Dylan in the lead for both the Billabong Junior Series and the Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour (PST) U18 rankings.

“I am extremely excited about winning this event . It has given me a huge confidence boost for the season as this is the first event of the year on the local surfing circuit and will also give me a lead in the ratings. The conditions were tough as the small inconsistent surf and onshore conditions were very difficult ” said Lightfoot . He went on to say “Surfing the New Pier is my ultimate training ground and this is my first win at the surf break.I am also super stoked to have Fox as my sponsor. They have supported me for over 5 years now and they are a great brand to surf for”.

Dylan’s next contest will be the RVCA Junior Series at his home break Jeffrey’s Bay later this month and he will be back in Durban in May to compete in the Quiksilver Pro Junior which take place at Durban’s New Pier.  Dylan missed the event last year as he was surfing overseas but is keen to duplicate his performance at the Quiksilver Pro Junior  and will be seen as a hot favourite going into that contest.

Marketing Manager for Fox, Jonathan Channing remarked “Everyone at Fox is super happy for Dyl. He puts a lot of hard work and dedication into his surfing and it’s great to see that it is paying off for him. Dylan definitely has a bright future in surfing and we are happy that we can help him to reach his goals.”
      

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Aussies win back to back Gold at World SUP and Paddleboard champs in Lima

AUSTRALIA WINS BACK-TO-BACK TEAM GOLD MEDAL AT THE 2013 ISA WORLD SUP AND PADDLEBOARD CHAMPIONSHIP


Team Australia dominated at the 2013 ISA SUP and Paddleboard Championship winning the overall Team Gold Medal at Club Waikiki-Peru Trophy for the second year in a row. Photo: ISA/Gonzales
Team Australia dominated at the 2013 ISA SUP and Paddleboard Championship winning the overall Team Gold Medal at Club Waikiki-Peru Trophy for the second year in a row. Photo: ISA/Gonzales










The Australian National SUP and Paddlebord Team achieved 9 out of the 12 possible Gold Medals awarding them the overall Team Gold Medal and the Club Waikiki-Peru Team Trophy for the second consecutive year.

Once again, the final day was greeted with beautiful weather and surf conditions for crowning the rest of the champions. Nicole Pacelli from Brazil won the day’s first Gold Medal in Women’s SUP Surfing. The following heat was the Men’s SUP Surfing Final that 22 year old Sean Poynter (USA) won. Later in the day, the SUP Technical Race Finals took place and Australia’s Angie Jackson and Denmark’s Casper Steinfath won the Gold Medals. The last event of the day was the Team Relay, which Australia won.

“Thank you all for making the 2013 ISA SUP and Paddleboard World Championship the best SUP and Paddleboard event in history,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “With a record amount of athletes from a record 23 countries, this event is certainly the most diverse SUP and Paddleboard event in history. “ Aguerre continued, “We had teams from all continents in the world, with all their diversity. They proved to the world that SUP and Paddleboard are universal sports that appeal to both genders, to all ages, and to people of diverse ethnic, religious, national and socio-economical groups. In closing, I would like to thank our friends from Peru, Karin Sierralta, VP of the ISA and organizer of the event, and our friends from IPD (Peruvian Institute of Sports) and its president, Francisco Boza, the Peruvian Olympic Committee (COP) and its president Jose QuiƱones, and ADO, the Olympians Peruvian Association, and of course, the legendary Club Waikiki and FENTA, the Peruvian Surfing Federation.”

The Final Day started with the Women’s SUP Surfing where the Brazilian Nicole Pacelli (13.17) achieved the Gold Medal after defeating the Australian Shakira Westdrop (AUS, 12.6), Iballa Ruano (SPA, 10.6) and Caroline Angibaud (FRA, 7.14).
The Aussie, Westdrop, had a great start to the final, and was ahead of the other competitors, but Pacelli found a good wave that awarded her 8.17 points on the last wave of the Final, that made her jump from the last place to the first and taking the Gold Medal and the Hector Velarde E. Women’s SUP Surfing Perpetual Trophy, named in honor of Peru’s legendary surfer and patron of the sport.

In the Men’s SUP Surfing Final, Sean Poynter (USA) had one of the best runs of the whole contest. In the first wave of the heat, Poynter achieved 9.33 points, the second highest single wave score of the contest adding to his total heat score of 17.83, the highest total heat score of the event. Poynter received the Hector Velarde E. Men’s SUP Surfing Perpetual Trophy.

2012’s SUP Surfing Gold Medalist Antoine Delpero fought hard to pass Poynter earning an 8.23 in the last minutes of the heat, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Poynter and defend his Championship. Tamil Martino (PER, 14.00) got the Silver Medal, Delpero (FRA, 13.8) the Bronze and Beau Nixon (AUS, 13.00) the Copper.

In the Women’s Technical Paddleboard Race, Angela Jackson won her second Gold Medal of the event defeating Olivia Piana (FRA) with the Silver Medal, Barbara Brasil (BRA) finished with the Bronze Medal, and Laura Quetglas (SPA) with the Copper Medal.
The Final of the Men’s SUP Technical race showed an amazing performance from Denmark’s Casper Steinfath.
From the beginning of the race, Steinfath took the lead and never looked back. Steinfath was followed closely by Jamie Mitchell, who caught up to him by riding a four foot wave to the beach from the outside buoy, 300 meters offshore. As the approached the beach, where they still needed to run across the cobblestone rocks to the finish line, both competitors showed great signs of sportsmanship and camaraderie as they high-fived each other, wishing each other luck before sprinting to the Gold and Silver Medals. When dismounting his board on the beach, Mitchell tripped on the shore break and fell behind Steinfath, who in Denmark’s first ISA event ever, achieved a Gold Medal for the Dannish Team.

The battle for 3rd and 4th place was very close too, but in the sprint to the finish line, South Africa’s Dylan Frick beat New Zealand’s Paul Jackson awarding him the Bronze Medal and Jackson the Copper Medal.

Today’s four Gold Medalists, an international display of dominance by (top left, clockwise) Angela Jackson (AUS), Sean Poynter (USA), Nicole Pacelli (BRA) and Casper Steinfath (DEN). Photo: ISA/Rommel and Tweddle
Today’s four Gold Medalists, an international display of dominance by (top left, clockwise) Angela Jackson (AUS), Sean Poynter (USA), Nicole Pacelli (BRA) and Casper Steinfath (DEN). Photo: ISA/Rommel and Tweddle


To conclude the 2013 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship the Final Team Relay took place. After a dominant performance all event, the Aussies won the Gold Medal over Team South Africa (Silver Medal), Team France (Bronze Medal) and Team Brazil (Copper Medal).
Today’s Results:
Overall team results:
  1. Australia- 24,140 points, Gold Medal and Club Waikiki-Peru Trophy
  2. South Africa- 17,005 points, Silver Medal
  3. Mexico- 15,119 points, Bronze Medal
  4. Peru- 14,118 points, Copper Medal
  5. Brazil- 13,771 points
  6. France- 13,682 points
  7. Argentina- 12,833 points
  8. Venezuela- 12,287 points
  9. United Kingdom- 10,709 points
  10. Canada- 7,898 points
  11. Spain- 7,108 points
  12. Denmark- 5,755 points
  13. Puerto Rico- 5,446 points
  14. USA- 5,196 points
  15. Chile- 4,919 points
  16. Japan- 4,537 points
  17. New Zealand- 3,560 points
  18. Ireland- 3,240 points
  19. Sweden- 2,860 points
  20. Germany- 2,696 points
  21. Tahiti- 1,850 points
  22. El Salvador- 600 points
  23. Panama- 600 points
Men’s SUP Surfing
  1. Sean Poynter (USA), Gold Medal and Hector Velarde E. Men’s SUP Surfing Perpetual Trophy
  2. Tamil Martino (PER), Silver Medal
  3. Antoine Delpero (FRA), Bronze Medal
  4. Beau Nixon (AUS), Copper Medal
Women’s SUP Surfing
  1. Nicole Pacelli (BRA), Gold Medal and Hector Velarde E. Women’s SUP Surfing Perpetual Trophy
  2. Shakira Westdorp (AUS), Silver Medal
  3. Iballa Ruano (SPA), Bronze Medal
  4. Caroline Angibaud (FRA), Copper Medal
Men’s SUP Technical Race
  1. Casper Steinfath (DEN), Gold Medal
  2. Jamie Mitchell (AUS), Silver Medal
  3. Dylan Frick (RSA), Bronze Medal
  4. Paul Jackson (NZL), Copper Medal
Women’s SUP Technical Race
  1. Angela Jackson (AUS), Gold Medal
  2. Olivia Piana (FRA), Silver Medal
  3. Barbara Brasil (BRA), Bronze Medal
  4. Laura Quetglas (SPA), Copper Medal
Team Relay
  1. Australia, Gold Medal
  2. South Africa, Silver Medal
  3. France, Bronze Medal
  4. Brazil, Copper Medal
  5. Mexico
  6. Venezuela
Other Results:
Men’s Paddleboard Technical Race
  1. Lincoln Dews (AUS), Gold Medal
  2. Brad Gaul (AUS), Silver Medal
  3. Ryan Butcher (RSA), Bronze Medal
  4. Luiz Escudero (PER), Copper Medal
Women’s Paddleboard Technical Race
  1. Jordan Mercer (AUS), Gold Medal
  2. Anna Notten (RSA), Silver Medal
  3. Rocio Larranaga (PER), Bronze Medal
  4. Shannon Bell (CAN), Copper Medal
Men’s SUP Long Distance Race
  1. Jamie Mitchell (AUS), Gold Medal
  2. Casper Steinfath (DEN), Silver Medal
  3. Fernando Stalla (MEX), Bronze Medal
  4. Paul Jackson (NZL), Copper Medal
Women’s SUP Long Distance Race
  1. Angela Jackson (AUS), Gold Medal
  2. Olivia Piana (Fra) ilver Medal
  3. Shannon Bell (CAN), Bronze Medal
  4. Laura Quetgals (SPA), Copper Medal
Men’s Paddleboard Distance Race
  1. Brad Gaul (AUS), Gold Medal
  2. Lincoln Dews (AUS), Silver Medal
  3. Ryan Butcher (RSA), Bronze Medal
  4. Luiz Escudero (PER), Copper Medal
Women’s Paddleboard Distance Race
  1. Jordan Merce (AUS), Gold Medal
  2. Anna Notten (RSA), Silver Medal
  3. Rocio Larrranaga (PER), Bronze Medal
  4. Risa Machucha (MEX), Copper Medal
For a full list of results visit: www.isawsuppc.com/results
For the full event coverage with daily videos and photo galleries visit www.isawsuppc.com

Friday, March 1, 2013

Quiksilver Goodwave presented by Zigzag - waiting period begins

 
 
Durban – Organisers of the Quiksilver Goodwave presented by Zigzag announced the start of the event’s six-month waiting period today. The 32 high profile invited surfers for this year’s edition of the event have also been announced and can found on the events website: www.goodwave.co.za. Assisting with the selection of this years competitors were World Tour surfer Travis Logie, surf photographer and Zigzag assistant editor Alan Van Gysen as well as surf journalist Craig Jarvis. South Africa’s most controversial surf personality Warwick Wright was also called up to assist in the selection process.

The Quiksilver Goodwave is a unique invitational surfing event held between the Durban piers, the event has a waiting period of 6 months, from 1 March to 31 August 2013, and will only go ahead should the forecast point to a day of pumping surf in the allocated period. Event organizers will be working closely with legendary surf forecaster Spike from Wavescape for their information, hoping that he will be able to predict a great day to surf the event.

Complimentary Image: Gavin Roberts (Scottburgh) has been selected to compete in he 2013 Quiksilver Goodwave presented by Zigzag - Photo Credit: © www.gregewingphoto.com
Complimentary Image: Gavin Roberts (Scottburgh) has been selected to compete in he 2013 Quiksilver Goodwave presented by Zigzag – Photo Credit: © www.gregewingphoto.com
 
 
 
“The Quiksilver Goodwave is a great event to work on because it presents a unique surf forecasting challenge. Not only do you call swell height and direction, but you need to determine the quality and power of the swell, whether it’s spaced out or frequent. Big east swells can pound the beachfront and turn it into a thumping, sandy mess. You want a perfect confluence of a smooth, spaced out swell, some southeast in the direction for it to wrap onto the piers, perfect offshore winds, and to top it off, the influence of a timed low tide at a certain point during the event,” said Spike from Wavescape.

It is not the “Big Wave” or the “Perfect Wave” event, it is an event designed to see South Africa’s best surfers blowing up in good waves on the Golden Mile. Four-man 30-minute heats will take to the water at one of the three selected venues: New Pier, North Beach or the Bay of Plenty. The venue will be determined by the swell size, wind direction and quality of the sand banks at the time. Jet-ski assistance will be used to ferry competitors back out to the take off zone in order to maximize the amount of waves ridden in the allotted 30-minute period. A panel of experienced judges will be scouting for a variety of solid maneuvers and good tube riding. The winner will receive R15 000 for his efforts with a total of R25 000 on offer but it is the good, clean, solid conditions with only three other competitors in the water that the surfers most look forward to.

Former winners Shane Thorne (Cape Town), Simon Nicholson (Durban), Warwick Wright (Durban) and Antonio Bortoletto (Durban) have all been listed to compete in this years’ edition of the event. Big wave chargers Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker (Durban), Josh Redman (Durban) and Matt Bromley (Cape Town) as well as young ripper Slade Prestwich (Durban) have also all found themselves on the list. Greg Emslie and Devyn Mattheys of East London will join the south coast trio of Casey Grant, Gavin Roberts and Frankie Oberholzer on their way up the coast when the event runs.

The Quiksilver Goodwave is one of the most anticipated events on the calendar and event organisers hope that it all falls into place this year. “The Goodwave has become increasingly difficult to run over the past few years, the harbour pier has been extended preventing a lot of good south swells from coming into the Durban bay, however, there are still good swells that can produce amazing surf, we just hope that when the swell does come all of the other elements come into line as well, ” said Quiksilver’s marketing manager Dane Patterson.

The Quiksilver Goodwave is presented by Zigzag and is sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. For more information and a full list of competitors go to click here!