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ISA World SUP Championship To Be Held In Mexico 2015

The International Surfing Association (ISA) is proud to announce that the 2015 ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship (WSUPPC) will be held in Sayulita, Mexico from May 10th to the 17th. This event will mark the first ever ISA World Championship to take place in the country.

The ISA WSUPPC has witnessed explosive growth since the inaugural event in 2012. It has nearly tripled in athlete participation from 105 to 277 and grown from 17 to 27 countries in its first three editions in all divisions.

Mexico offers a rich coastline with many incredible destinations for StandUp Paddle (SUP) Racing and Surfing, and Sayulita is a perfect location to host the ISA WSUPPC. Sayulita is considered the epicenter of Mexico’s SUP community.

“We are delighted that Mexico will host the 2015 ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship in Sayulita, which is the first ISA World Championship ever in Mexico,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Sayulita will be an ideal venue for the best SUP Surfers, SUP Racers, and Paddleboarders in the world to gather and compete for Gold. We are grateful for the dedication and hard work of the President of the Mexican Surfing Federation, Luis Skeen and his Director of SUP, Alfredo Salafranca, for making this event possible. We look forward to a long term relationship between Mexico and the ISA.”

“We are very excited to bring for the first time an ISA World Championship to Mexico, this is a historic moment for the country,” said Luis Skeen, President of the Mexican Surfing Federation. “In 2015, we will host the world’s best SUP Surfers, SUP Racers, and Paddleboarders in Sayulita, an incredible destination that has the most respected SUP community in the country. We will welcome all the teams from around the world with the traditional Mexican warmth and open arms. Thank you to the ISA and its President Fernando Aguerre for giving Mexico the opportunity to host the 2015 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship, which we hope will be the first of many ISA competitions in the country.”

More than 300 of the world’s greatest watermen from over 30 countries will compete in 11 different disciplines and compete for the coveted Club Waikiki-Peru ISA World Team Champion Trophy and the individual Gold Medals. The 2015 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship will include Men’s and Women’s SUP Surfing, SUP Technical Race, SUP Distance Race, Paddleboard Technical Race, Paddleboard Distance Race, and the Team Relay Race. 


Posted November 12th, 2014 - News Posted for ISA News. - See more at: http://www.isasurf.org/2015-isa-world-standup-paddle-paddleboard-championship-take-place-sayulita-mexico-march-22nd-t0-29th/#sthash.Z7lCpH2n.dpuf

ASP Restructures Qualifying Series for 2015

Australian Matt Banting blitzed the ASP Qualifying Series in 2014 

and is poised to join the world elite next season. Photo: ASP/POULLENOT

ASP Restructures Qualifying Series for 2015

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International is pleased to announce a restructure and rebranding action for the Qualifying Series (QS) that will take effect in 2015. The action is intended to simplify the Qualifying Series from a consumer, media, marketing and athlete standpoint, ensuring the continuation of the world’s best surfers advancing through to the elite Championship Tour where they will contest for the world title.

Moving forward, the former seven levels of QS events will become five with naming designations centred around point offerings:
 

• “1-Star” to become “QS1000”
• “2-Star” and “3-Star” to merge and become “QS1500”
• “4-Star” and “5-Star” to merge and become “QS3000”
• “6-Star” to become “QS6000”
• “Prime” to become “QS10000”
  

The QS tiers have been streamlined, whilst maintaining a similar points differential that exists between the current Prime and Star events.
 
“Our goal with the Qualifying Series is always to ensure the best surfers are advancing to surfing’s highest level of competition, the Championship Tour,” Kieren Perrow, ASP Commissioner, said. “The changes being made to next year’s Qualifying Series are designed to enhance the process already in place and improve the experience for our athletes, fans and event partners”

In addition to the above transition, enhanced emphasis will placed around the seven regional tours in Africa, Australia, Europe, Hawaii, Japan, North America and South America with preferred seeding into all QS events being awarded to regional champions.
 
Running in conjunction with the evolution of the Qualifying Series, the ASP will roll out significant changes to its Junior Program. Having crowned notable surfers such as Andy Irons, Joel Parkinson, Jordy Smith, Gabriel Medina, Jessi Miley-Dyer, Sally Fitzgibbons and Pauline Ado in the past, the ASP World Junior Championships are populated through seven regional tours and have long served as the benchmark for future greatness in the surfing world. Historically a 20-and-under age division, the age will drop to 18-and under beginning in 2016.
 
“The ASP World Junior Championship is the most prestigious junior event on the planet and the calibre of past champions is unparalleled,” Perrow said. “We’ve spent significant time discussing trends within the surfing world, athlete performance and career pathway and have determined that the evolutionary rollout for the ASP Junior Program over the next two years will benefit the sport.”

For more information, check out ASPWorldTour.com  <http://aspworldtour.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c3188a01ca90802189312609b&id=abb289025d&e=2400bf89d5>
 
In 2015, the ASP will become the World Surf League (WSL), overseeing the Men’s Championship Tour, Women’s Championship Tour, Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, World Junior Championships and World Longboard Championships.
  

The winners of the 2014 Absa Top 10 Pinotage

The winners of the 2014 Absa Top 10 Pinotage competition

Allée Bleue		2012	Allée Bleue Pinotage
Bellingham		2013	Bellingham The Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage
Beyerskloof		2011	Beyerskloof Diesel Pinotage
Delheim		2012	Delheim Vera Cruz Estate Pinotage
Diemersdal Estate		2013	Diemersdal Pinotage Reserve
Rijk's Private Cellar		2010	Rijk's Reserve Pinotage
Simonsig Estate		2012	Simonsig Redhill Pinotage
Spier		2012	Spier 21 Gables Pinotage
Wildekrans Wine Estate		2012	Wildekrans Pinotage Barrel Select Reserve
Windmeul Kelder		2013	Windmeul Pinotage Reserve

BEST OLIVE OILS IN SOUTH AFRICA NAMED AT 2014 ABSA TOP 5

l to r Nick Wilkinson (Rio Largo), Brenda Wilkinson (Rio Largo), Chris van Niekerk (Morgenster), Willie Lategan (ABSA), Vittoria Jooste (SA Olive), Willie Zastron (ABSA), John Acland (Groote Vallei), Stephan Loubser (Willow Creek) , Photograph: Andrew Gorman

 

 
The crème de la crème of South African extra virgin olive oils were unveiled at the Absa Top 5 Olive Oil Awards today. Groote Vallei, Morgenster, Rio Largo and Willow Creek were recognized as the winning producers, edging out an impressive line-up of leading olive oil exponents for the coveted Top 5 positions.



The Absa Top 5 accolades were awarded to: Rio Largo Premium Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Intense), Rio Largo Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium), Groote Vallei Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium), Morgenster Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Intense) and Willow Creek Estate Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium).

The runners-up are: Eden Olives Muiskraal Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Delicate); Gabriëlskloof Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium); Marbrin Olive Growers Intense Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Intense); Mulderbosch Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Intense) and Willow Creek Food Lover’s Signature Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium).

SA Olive and Absa instituted the Top 5 competition in 2013 as an extension to the annual SA Olive Awards. The Absa Top 5 olive oils were selected from the ranks of this year’s SA Olive Awards top achievers by a revered panel of olive oil experts.

The competition thus provides a platform for the South African olive oil industry to showcase its very finest. South African oils are regularly recognised around the world for their quality and distinctiveness, and competitions like the Absa Top 5 play a pivotal role in educating local consumers about the industry and its diverse spectrum of products. According to Willie Zastron, Absa Provincial Head for Business Banking in the Western Cape, the Absa Top 5 aims to shine the spotlight on the superlative quality of these oils, thus increasing awareness and helping consumers to appreciate SA olive oil for the national treasure it has become.

"This is the second year in which Absa has partnered with SA Olive as we continue to promote uniquely South African olive oils made by the top South African producers. This partnership reflects Absa’s commitment not only to SA Olive, but also to South African agriculture as a whole," says Zastron.

The tasting panel led by Mauro Amelio – an accredited panel leader and international olive oil expert from the National Association of Olive Oil Tasters (ONAOO) in Italy – was comprised of South African industry specialists Gerrie Duvenage, Reni Hildenbrand, Louise Rabie, Robert Claasens, Leonard Arangies and Benedetta Lami.

Following today’s announcement, Absa will be inviting top clients to taste the Top 5 olive oils as well as this year’s Top 10 Pinotage wines in KwaZulu Natal during October.
Visit www.saolive.co.za for more information or contact SA Olive at tel (021) 870 2900 or email info@saolive.co.za.

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