2015 surf series
Tuesday 17 March 2015 Umhlanga Rocks and Port Alfred have received the nod from surf lifestyle brand Quiksilver as venues in their 2015 events calendar, which now also includes an U16 junior division.
The first event of the Quiksilver Get Free series kicks off in Cape Town on 21-22 March. Event two and three will be staged at Umhlanga Rocks (30-31 May) and Port Alfred (29-30 August) respectively. In 2014 Quiksilver, with Surfing South Africa, staged the successful Takes One To Know One Series with events in Cape Town, Umdloti, KZN and Victoria Bay.
The 2015 series will cater for three divisions, Open Mens, under twenty boys and under sixteen boys divisions. All three events in the series will be sanctioned by Surfing South Africa and will carry 3A PST (Pro Surf Tour) ratings. A total of R108,000 is on offer which will attract the cream of the crop to enter.
“I am so glad that Quiksilver has decided to stage this series again, last year it was so good to be at these events, it’s something our domestic tour was lacking, it gave me a good base to go on and compete on the WSL (World Surf League), winning two events last year gave me so much confidence, I hope it will go the same way this year,” said Beyrick de Vries of Umhlanga Rocks.
“I am so glad that Quiksilver has decided to stage this series again, last year it was so good to be at these events, it’s something our domestic tour was lacking, it gave me a good base to go on and compete on the WSL (World Surf League), winning two events last year gave me so much confidence, I hope it will go the same way this year,” said Beyrick de Vries of Umhlanga Rocks.
De Vries won two of the events in the open division in 2014 and will be the favourite for this years’ series. Other top surfers to watch for include Dylan Lightfoot of Jeffreys Bay, David Van Zyl of Durban North and Michael February and Matt Bromley, both of Kommetjie, Cape Town.
The under twenty boys division is shaping up to be a very competitive field with current SA junior champion Michael Monk of East London set to lead the charge. He will be up against some fierce competition from the likes of Diran Zakarian of Melkbosstrand, Shane Sykes of Salt Rock and Max Armstrong of Kommetjie, Cape Town. Surfers under the age of sixteen are very excited about taking part this year; brothers Joshe and Angelo Faulkner from Jeffreys Bay plan to stamp their authority on the first event but will see stiff competition from the likes of Ethan Fletcher, Kommetjie and Adin Masencamp, Strand.
Quiksilver’s Dane Patterson commented on the thought process behind the venue selection, “We try move the events around a bit every year to make it interesting for the surfers and the spectators alike. It’s also good to have a balance and spread the events throughout the country geographically. At the end of the day it’s always a gamble with mother nature but we’re hoping to get some good surf for this year’s series."