Durban returns to its surf city roots

In June, Durban will return to its surf city roots –remember the care free days of the sixties and seventies along the Golden Mile, bronzed bodies and coconut suntan lotion, the Bay of Plenty and the iconic Gunston 500.

The Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel, which will take place at the New Pier on Durban’s Golden Mile from the 7th to 9th June, is embracing the worldwide retro surf wave which is seeing all things old becoming new in surf cities across the world.

“Durban has the richest surf history in Africa and one of the most colourful surf heritages in the world. Over the past couple of years, the release of surfing movies that have documented the rise of the surf culture have seen surfers of both the past and the present going back to the romance and vibe of the early days of surfing. For this year’s event, we promise to add even more spice. We are confident that by combining retro and traditional disciplines, we can present something unforgettable for everyone,” says Paul Godwin from Nerve Events.

Over three days, the public and surfing community will be treated to world class wave riding in the Longboarding, Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) and Retro Surfing divisions. The event will also host a Traditional Longboard Expression Session that will showcase the golden days of surfing. This will showcase the days when single fins and twinnies ruled the waves and show how surfing has evolved over the decades.

The Traditional Longboard Expression Session will only be open to surfers who are part of the main event and have the necessary skill and showmanship to maneuver these boards and produce what can only be described as classic surfing.

Godwin, who is looking forward to seeing both old and new surfboards littering the beachfront, says the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel will include the KZN Longboard Open Championships. Contestants who are not representatives /members of respective provinces in the country will be allowed to surf in this KwaZulu-Natal Longboard Surfing Association sanctioned event.

This year, there’s also the Forgotten Soul Retro Surfing Division.  Here, surfers must ride single-fin surfboards which generally fall into the 7’0” category. “This event is sure to bring a lot of interest to the carnival with many surfers from the 80’s still using this type of board today and others having grown up surfing the single-fin. I am sure this division will be hotly contested, as the winner is in line for a new Forgotten Soul retro surfboard courtesy of Natural Curve surfboards,” says Hugh Thompson the owner/shaper of Natural Curve Surfboards


For more information or if you wish to enter contact Nerve Events on 031-2012169 or go to durbansurfcarnival.blogspot.com


Main Sponsors of the event are the City of Durban - Durban “the warmest place to be, Jeep Apparel, The Independent on Saturday.

Support sponsors are: Bokomo; Naish SUP, Natural Curve Surfboards, Coreban SUP, Thule, Nestle Pure Life Water, Container Conversions, Gunslinger Skateboards, Mad Dog Surf School, Maisch Fins, Nescafe, Thermo Plastic Concepts & Equipment (TCE), Pro Class/Lamont Surf Shop, Club Zero Fitness, Carling Black Label, Kahuna Creations. Lock Rack

The Event is created and produced by Nerve Events

The Event will comprise

• South African SUP Surfing Championships
• KZN Longboard Open Championships
• Retro Surfing Contest
• Traditional Longboard Expression Session
• SNAP Photographic Competition
• Free Surfing Clinic
• Club Zero Fitness Weekend
  

Ends /

Stand Up Paddle Surfing Champs set for Durban Surf Carnival

enjoying the moment - photo - Jon Ivins.

Stand Up Paddleboarding – or SUP for short – will be an exciting draw card for both hardcore water sport enthusiasts and spectators eager to soak up the fun and the sun along Durban’s Golden Mile during the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel.

Event founder and producer, Paul Godwin, of Nerve Events, said that his year’s festival which is scheduled to take place between June 7 and 9 at New Pier would once again showcase the city as a mecca of water sports.

“For 2013 we promised to add even more spice to this exciting event and, although this is the second year that the South African SUP Surfing Championships will take place during the festival, the popularity of this event is growing along with the popularity of the sport as a whole across South Africa. This event will be judged on wave riding ability and has become a firm favourite with more than 60 percent of the competition coming up from the Western Cape. The quality of surfing in this division has grown tremendously and is very exciting to watch,” he said.

The South African SUP Surfing Championships is sanctioned by SUPSA and will see winners being crowned in the Open, Men’s and Women’s divisions as well as the Juniors and legends division (over 45). The winners of the Open Men and Women’s divisions will be eligible for squad selection to represent South Africa at the 2014 ISA Stand Up Paddle World Championship. Prizes are great with two SUP boards up for grabs courtesy of Naish SUP and Coreban SUP.

For the uninitiated, Godwin said that SUP is the fastest growing water sport in the world.

Surf historian, Glen Thompson (Cape Town), explained that SUP was essentially a revival of pre-World War II Hawaiian beach boy surfing, where surf instructors would take out a board with a paddle to move quickly through the waves and give instruction or take photographs of those learning to surf the waves of Waikiki. The sport gained attention during the early 2000s through the visibility of Laird Hamilton, a Hawaiian waterman, who used a longer board with a single bladed paddle as part of his training regime for surfing big waves.

SUP was then taken up in Hawaii, USA, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe then came to South Africa in late 2006. Since then clubs have sprung up along the coast and as far inland as Gauteng.  Although SUP started out as an alternative to wave-riding, it soon branched out to include flat water paddling and downwind racing.

Thompson confirmed that SUP had grown quickly both at the coast and inland in the last few years. “The sporting appeal is for those wanting to re-connect with their surfing, the lifestyle of paddling with friends and family and the social vibe at social and competitive events. It appeals to both women and men as a lifestyle sport and offers a way of keeping fit while enjoying the water. South Africa has a strong outdoors sporting lifestyle culture which SUP'ing continues,” he said.
  Thompson added that, while paddling disciplines such as rowing, kayaking and surf ski'ing used double sided paddle while sitting in the craft and paddling, SUP had developed a single-blade paddle that allowed a rider to stand and paddle. “This standing elevation provides a unique vantage point to watch the water conditions, looking down into the water to see kelp beds or coral reefs or dolphins swimming by in the ocean. On the surfing side, the paddle is the key distinguishing feature too which adds to the surfing experience both as a functional component in catching and riding waves. The paddle is also used to help the SUP rider to turn the board and trim on the wave while riding waves. SUP surfing boards have reduced in length over the length over the years, but are generally wider and thicker than a normal surfboard. This is because a SUP needs to carry a person while standing paddling out to catch waves, while surfing is a prone paddling out and catching waves experience,” he explained. 
 

Defending open SUP Champion and Jeep Apparel sponsored surfer 

Justin Bing (WP) in action at last years event - photo - Jon Ivins.

For more information or you want to enter the event contact Nerve Events on 031-2012169 or go to durbansurfcarnival.blogspot.com

Main Sponsors of the event are the City of Durban - Durban “the warmest place to be, Jeep Apparel, The Independent on Saturday.

Supporting sponsors are: Bokomo; Naish SUP, Natural Curve Surfboards, Coreban SUP, Thule, Nestle Pure Life Water, Container Conversions, Gunslinger Skateboards, Mad Dog Surf School, Maisch Fins, Nescafe, Thermo Plastic Concepts & Equipment (TCE), Pro Class/Lamont Surf Shop, Club Zero Fitness, Carling Black Label, Kahuna Creations. Lock Rack

The Event is created and produced by Nerve Events

The Event will comprise

• South African SUP Surfing Championships
• KZN Longboard Open Championships
• Retro Surfing Contest
• Traditional Longboard Expression Session
• SNAP Photographic Competition
• Free Surfing Clinic
• Club Zero Fitness Weekend
  

Surf Carnival for Surf City

The Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel will once again take place at the New Pier on Durban’s Golden Mile from the 7th to 9th June 2013. This popular multi disciplined surfing event in its 11th year will see South Africa’s top watermen battling it out for the various titles on offer.

The event will see the public and fellow surfers being treated to world class wave riding in the Longboarding, Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) and Retro Surfing divisions. The event will also host a Traditional Longboard Expression Session, this session will showcase the golden days of surfing and the public will be able to see how surfing has progressed over the decades with the myriad of old and new surfboards littering the beachfront.

The Stand up Paddle event will once again be the South African SUP Surfing Championships. The SUPSA sanctioned event will see winners being crowned in the Open men and Women’s divisions as well as the Juniors and legends division (over 45). The winners of the Open men and Women’s divisions will be eligible for squad selection to represent South Africa at the 2014 ISA Stand Up Paddle World Championship

Defending Open SUP Champion Justin Bing (Cape Town) will be in action

This event will be judged on wave riding ability and has become a firm favourite with more than 60% of the competition coming up from the Western Cape. The quality of surfing in this division has grown tremendously and is very exciting to watch. The prizes are also huge in this division with two SUP boards up for grabs courtesy of Naish SUP and Coreban SUP.

The Event will include the KZN Longboard Open Championships which means contestants who are not representatives /members of respective provinces in the country are allowed to surf in this KZNLSA sanctioned event in the respective surfing divisions contested.

For 2013 the event will also include the Forgotten Soul Retro Surfing Division, the rules for this division will require the surfer to ride a single-fin surfboard which generally falls into the sub 7’0” category. This event is sure to bring a lot of interest to the carnival as many surfers are still active today and will remember or would have grown up surfing this type of surfboard and the organisers expect this division to be hotly contested as the winner is in line for a new Forgotten Soul retro surfboard courtesy of Natural Curve surfboards

The Traditional Longboard Expression Session, will only be open to surfers who are part of the main event and have the necessary skill and showmanship to manoeuvres these boards as what can be described as classic surfing.

“Jeep Apparel SA has been a proud sponsor of this event for 11 years and has watched it grow enormously over the years and are very happy to be on board again.  We wish all of our contestants and spectators to the event a great contest.  Let’s hope that we have some awesome surfing conditions. I also want to thank all other participating sponsors for their commitment to this event, without them this event could not take place”, says Steve Uppink, Managing Director Jeep Apparel SA.


“For 2013 we promised the faithful that we would add even more spice to this year’s event and we hope that by adding the retro and traditional disciplines and the fitness aspect it will go down well with our surfers and the public alike, it is always a joy working on this event with great contestants and fantastic sponsors making our job fun, we are expecting a record breaking entry this year and its going to be three days of nonstop surfing action” commented Paul Godwin from Nerve Events.

The event will also host the SNAP Photographic Competition which is a favourite with all the avid surf photographers professional and amateur getting in on the action.

The Mad Dog Surf School Free Learn to Surf clinic run by Shaun Sellman offers a life-changing experience with free surfing lessons open to all members of the public. The lessons are designed that you will stand and surf before the weekend is over.

Another new edition to this year’s event will be the Club Zero fitness weekend. Club Zero will be running warm up and stretching sessions as well as some fun exercise programs on the beach during the Surf Carnival. We will also be available throughout the day to chat to you about any questions you might have on fitness and what best suits you. We will also be bringing along our physios for you to enjoy. Look out for the tug o war competition and start getting your 3 man teams together. Great prizes up for grabs and give away's.


For more information contact Nerve Events on 031-2012169 or go to   www. durbansurfcarnival.blogspot.com

Main Sponsors of the event are the City of Durban - Durban “the warmest place to be, Jeep Apparel, The Independent on Saturday

Support sponsors are, Naish SUP, Natural Curve Surfboards, Coreban SUP, Thule, Nestle Pure Life Water, Container Conversions, Gunslinger Skateboards, Mad Dog Surf School, Maisch Fins, Nescafe, Thermo Plastic Concepts & Equipment (TCE), Pro Class/Lamont Surf Shop, Club Zero Fitness, Carling Black Label, Kahuna Creations, Lock Racks

The Event is created and produced by Nerve Events

The Event will comprise

• South African SUP Surfing Championships
• KZN Longboard Open Championships
• Retro Surfing Contest
• Traditional Longboard Expression Session
• SNAP Photographic Competition
• Free Surfing Clinic
• Club Zero Fitness Weekend
  

Durban Surf Carnival 2013: A message from our sponsor - Jeep Apparel

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The launch of the upcoming Durban Surf Carnival | Durban

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