First for the Northern Cape
Wednesday 4 August 2021 As the third wave begins to subside, the surf should be up at the inaugural WSL Africa Speciality Event scheduled for Hondeklip Bay in the Northern Cape later this month.
WRECKED: Hondeklip Bay hosts a shipwreck and a rippable wave. Photo WSL / Alan Van Gysen
WSL Africa announced that the Experience Northern Cape Namakwa Challenge presented by Billabong Adventure Division will be an invitation-only event for 20 of the top Men’s surfers from South Africa and Africa.
“After the halting of contests due to COVID-19, this is a wonderful opportunity for some of our top surfers, including our best African surfers, to compete for an impressive prize purse. The competition will be the first professional surfing event in the Northern Cape and will do much to help grow surf tourism in the area and to develop surfing as a sport and lifestyle along the Northern Cape coast,” said Kai Linder, Amandla Surf Foundation General Manager.
“We are excited to start the 2021 season with this wonderful, first of a kind WSL Speciality event. An event by the surfers, for the surfers. Thank you to Northern Cape Tourism for the support, as well as sponsors Billabong Adventure Division and Amandla Surf Foundation,” said Colin Fitch, WSL Africa Regional Manager.
JOSH PIT: Exciting young surfer Joshe Faulkner is one of the favourites. Photo WSL / Van Gysen
The top ten Men on the WSL Africa Qualifying Series (QS) are invited and includes defending South African Open Champion Joshe Faulkner. Billabong riders Matt Bromley and Senegal’s Cherif Fall will join the list of competitors, along with wildcards Dale Staples and Amandla Foundation Junior, Surprise Ntokozo and the top-ranked WSL Africa Junior QS surfer, Luke Thompson.
The competition format will see all the surfers compete in two, four-man heats. The top eight surfers with the highest two-wave total will advance to the Semifinals. The waiting period will allow organisers to run the event in the best possible conditions at Hondeklip Bay.
Namaqualand is renowned for the annual spring wild flower phenomenon. The season usually begins mid-August until early September, which means the surfers at this event will get to experience one of the most breathtaking natural wonders of the South African landscape.
SIMO SMILES: You'll always find a smile on the face of Simo Mkhize. Photo WSL / Van Gysen
COVID-19 Protocols
The health and safety of our athletes, staff, and the local community are of the utmost importance and the WSL has a robust set of procedures in place to keep everyone safe. These plans are unique to each event and include measures like testing for athletes and essential staff, masks and strict physical distancing measures, temperature checks, and minimal personnel on-site.
No spectators or on-site media will be allowed and all COVID-19 Protocols as laid out by the Department of Arts, Culture and Sports will be adhered to.
The Experience Northern Cape Namakwa Challenge presented by Billabong Adventure Division is scheduled from August 23-31, 2021 at Hondeklip Bay, Namakwa, Northern Cape / South Africa. For all results, photos, video highlights and press releases, log on to WorldSurfLeague.com.
The Namakwa Challenge is a WSL Speciality Event organized by Amandla Surf Foundation and has the institutional support of Northern Cape Tourism – Experience Northern Cape, as for the sponsorship of Billabong Adventure Division and Media Partners Africa Now and Monster Energy.