Homework Deadline

After the first contest at Diary Beach in January, the lighteys were give homework. Coaches in the iniative by South African Surfing Legends have a plan to get SA surfing back to where it belongs, at the top. But that is going to take some hard work.

Part of the process was to present entrants with a memory stick containing videos of them surfing for analysis and improvenet. Coaches are now looking forward to seeing some red hot surfing after a lot of studying, and practice.

"All the legends are looking forward to seeing the U16 Boys, U16 Girls and U13 Boys perform at their best this Saturday," said Bruce Jackson. He said it was a contest like no other because the youngsters are coached and encouraged in the art of competitive surfing all the way through event.

"Contest director Ann Wright and head judge Jono Hutchison will all be on hand to give their expert opinions. This is broad-based coaching, aimed at equipping our junior surfers with a solid foundation to surf contests."

The criteria for this event will remain the same, with the same surf spot (Diary Bowl), the same judges and the same criteria. Because the scores are aggregated, the coaches will be able to view the results in the progression of the three events, allowing for a measured and stringent evaluation of each participant's performance.

The Future Legends Coaching Series encompasses competitive surfing techniques and approach, wave-for-wave video analysis, wave score breakdowns, wave selection advice, surf correction on skateboards and heat preparation. The coaching is directed by the South African Surf Legends coaching team of Barry Campbell, Spider Murphy, Paul Canning, Simon Nicholson, Chris Knutsen, Heather Clark, Jason Ribbink and Peter Lawson, all under the guidance of Bruce Jackson, who took South Africa to Gold in the 2002 ISA World Titles.

The division winners of the three-part Future Legends Coaching Series will be invited to participate in the newly-established High Performance Surfing Academy two-week coaching course, the brainchild of the South African Surfing Legends. The HPSA will be open for all surfers of competence to attend, and to improve their surfing knowledge and performances. Course structures and pricing will be available soon.

"We have a vision, and it encompasses getting our junior surfers back onto the world tour," said the HPSA's Jason Ribbink. "This is going to need a big effort from everyone inolved to rise to the challenge."

The big prize for the winner of the U16 Boys Division will be a wild-card slot into the invite-only JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA. The JBU Supertrial is the most important and prestigious event in the country for our local surfers, and it is a huge honour to get an invite to this tournament. It is the only contest that offers a back-door entry into the World Surf League's JBay Open Championship Tour event. Last year the contest was won by Slade Prestwich from Durban. The surfer from the U16 division who wins that slot will be competing against the best surfers in the country in the JBU Supertrial, and it will provide him with more of that valuable competitive experience.

South African Surfing Legends is supported by South African Rugby Legends, Richmark, Firewire, Red Bull, Avis and Maverick Printing, as well as Core Medical and Wellness Centre.

The SASL website - www.southafricansurfinglegends.com
The SASL Facebook page - on.fb.me/1oGsP5z