Look Out Longboarders!

HOLY MOLY! This screengrab for tomorrow morning suggests a few waves around. Photo Windy

Jordy has chosen the longboarding champs to ease his way back to competitive surfing, and will be surfing with his dad Graeme in the Eden Soul Surfers team. Sadly Jordy had to withdraw from the Olympics due to a knee injury sustained in May during a purple patch of bombing east swell at New Pier.

Ranked world #3 on the World Surf League Championship Tour, he was forced to make the tough decision to withdraw from the Olympics and the World Tour event in Mexico, which has scuppered his hopes of making the final five in the WSL finals.

That is a huge pity for the lanky Durbanite, because the Rip Curl WSL Finals are being held in waves made for him at Lower Trestles, San Clemente in California. The finals will be held between 9 and 17 September.

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT: Jordy might just pull off an upset at Point. Photo WSL / Cestari

Now, four months after his injury, Smith is stoked with the extent of his recovery: “I’m extremely happy with how the surgery went and the journey to recovery has been amazing. For the past months I’ve spent 6 to 7 hours every day on rehabilitation, and I thought surfing the longboard championships on a bigger board at the Point would be a great opportunity to get my groove back. The competitor in me is itching to compete!”

Smith is not completely new to the world of longboarding, having competed in the 2006 South African Longboarding Championships where he went on to win a Junior Longboarding title. Since his win, the And with the punch of a 20 second swell filling in all day and growing more and more consistent, the contestants will be spoiled for choice on the grinding walls of the fabled point break.criteria in longboard surfing has changed considerably to reflect a revival in traditional-style longboarding. “There’s been a clear transition to more traditional longboarding, which is not my expertise. But for me it’s more about getting back in the water and being a part of the event.”

Jordy will be filling a gap in the Eden Soul Surfers team, the same team that his father will be surfing for. “I think it will be really special to surf an event with my dad and maybe I can try coach him and give back some of the medicine that he’s given me.”

The longboarding community has welcomed Smith’s entry into the competition. “We are happy that Jordy has chosen the SA Longboard Championships to make his comeback and hope that this will be a good opportunity for him to get back on the horse. I’m particularly pleased that our event No.1 seed, Thomas King, was instrumental in persuading Jordy to surf our Champs.”, said Surfing South Africa’s Longboard representative, Paul O’Connell.

And with the punch of a 20 second swell filling in all day and growing more and more consistent, the contestants will be spoiled for choice on the grinding walls of the fabled point break. The South African Longboard Championships, sanctioned by Surfing South Africa, presented by RYD Brand will take place from tomorrow 24 to 29 August at Point, Jeffreys Bay.