Province Rules at Junior Champs

The 2010 Western Province Junior surfing team - in small but contestable surf - took four out of eight age groups to maintained a unique record. Since 1965, no province surfing team has defeated WP in a national tournament in the Cape Peninsula.

The Province surfers took out both U-20 titles (Matt Bromley and Tanika Hoffman), while Mickey February and Jordy Smith scooped the U-15 and U-13 boys titles respectively. Province also produced more finalists (12) than any other province. The closest were Eastern Province (6), and Central KZN (5). EP scooped wins in both U-15 divisions for a second in the interprovincial team event with Central KZN slipping as defending champions to third place, while Boland (who also had five finalists) a whisker from relegating them to fourth.

Border was fifth and Southern KZN came sixth. The Southern KZN surfers had something to celebrate though as they received the Best Team trophy which is awarded to the province which displays the best team spirit over the six days of competition.

The SA Development Academy Team made up of surfers from the annual SA Grommet Games and supported at this event by Sport and Recreation SA, posted its best ever result by ending seventh  ahead of Southern Cape and Zululand.

The venue for the annual South African Junior Championships rotates between the provinces affiliated to Surfing South Africa and, after eight years, 2010 was Western Province’s turn to host the premier junior tournament on the national calendar.

Possible venues for this six day marathon contest ranged from Muizenberg to Long Beach with Noordhoek and Witsands possibilities. Long Beach played ball and ended up hosting all six days of competition in conditions that ranged from 4 to 6 foot to surf that was just contestable at 2 foot.

The Peninsula provided six perfect spring days, there was some top class surfing which included a 10 point ride by 12 year old Jordy Maree of WP and the 250 surfers will remember this event as one of the best ever.

In addition to interprovincial team competition there were also eight individual titles, medals and trophies as well as three green national blazers at stake.

WP captain Matt Bromley showed the way for the team in blue and white when he won the Under 20 Boys title beating Boland surfer Jaco Steyn into second place. Defending champion Shawn Dennis of central KZN was third and Border’s Kyle Galloway was fourth.Honours also went WP’s way in the Under 20 girls division where Tanika Hoffman beat her good friend Faye Zoetmulder by 0.25 points to take the title.

Alice Mc Gregor of Border was third and Kirsty Delport of Central KZN came fourth.Mikey February added a third trophy to the WP stash when he won the Under 17 title and became the first surfer in the contest to qualify for the 2011 SA Junior Team which will compete in the ISA World Junior Championships in Peru.

Rigard Smith of Boland produced his best result in posting a second place while Steven Sawyer of EP and Davey Brand of WP were third and fourth respectively.

In the Under 17 girls division the brilliant Central KZN star Sarah Baum was unstoppable as she bagged the trophy and her spot in the 2011 SA Junior team. Central KZN teammate Heidi Palmboom was second, Emma Smith of EP was third and Sabrina Scott of WP fourth.Under 15 Boys honours and a spot in the 2011 SA Junior team went to Dylan Lightfoot of EP who fought off a three pronged WP attack in this final to take the trophy and the spoils. Benji Brand came second ahead of his WP teammates Brandon Benjamin and Max Armstrong.EP clinched the double in this division when Gina Smith won the Under 15 girl’s title in fine style. Shannon McGee of Southern KZN was second, Nina Woerman of WP came third and Carryn MacNicol of Central KZN was fourth.

The youngest surfers in this year’s championships were the competitors in the Under 13 girls and boys’ divisions. The youngest was 10 years old, there were three or four 11 year olds and there were at least four 12 year olds in the two finals.

Fittingly, the Surfer of the Contest was Chanelle Botha of Southern KZN who scored an impressive 14 out of 20 to win the Under 13 title to add to her 2009 Under 12 gold medal. Boland’s Anoush Zakarian came second, Ruth Armstrong of WP was third and Cana Foster of Central KZN came fourth.Only one other surfer could have been in the running for the Surfer of the Contest award and that was Under 13 Boys champion Jordy Maree of WP. Having posted a 10 point ride in his semi final this incredibly talented 12 year old finished his contest in style by scoring a massive 18.75 out of 20 to win the title. Two Boland surfers, Steffen Burrows and Adin Masencamp, added value to the final to finish second and third respectively while another WP star, Donovan Wichman, came fourth.

Brandon Benjamin of WP was awarded the Most Improved surfer trophy for his consistent performance throughout the event.The event was first held in 1996 and is the most important contest for junior surfers in South Africa. It not only determines National Champions in the Under 20, Under 17, Under 15 and Under 13 boys and girls age divisions but also determines the winning provincial team and divisional champions each year.

FULL RESULTS

U20 BOYS
1. MATTHEW BROMLEY (WP)
2. JACO STEYN (BOL)
3. SHAWN DENNIS (CENTRAL KZN)
4. KYLE GALLOWAY (BOR)

U20 GIRLS
1. TANIKA HOFFMAN (WP)
2. FAYE ZOETMULDER (EP)
3. ALICE MCGREGOR (BOR)
4. KIRSTY DELPORT (CENTRAL KZN)

U17 BOYS
1. MICHAEL FEBRUARY (WP)
2. RIGARD SMIT (BOL)
3. STEVEN SAWYER (EP)
4. DAVEY BRAND (WP)

U17 GIRLS
1. SARAH BAUM (KZN)
2. HEIDI PALMBOOM (CENTRAL KZN)
2. EMMA SMITH (EP)
3. SABRINA SCOTT (WP)

U15 BOYS
1. DYLAN LIGHTFOOT (EP)
2. BENJI BRAND (WP)
3. BRANDON BENJAMIN (WP)
4. MAX ARMSTRONG (WP)

U15 GIRLS
1. GINA SMITH (EP)
2. SHANNON MCGEE (EP)
3. NINA WOERMANN (WP)
4. CARRYN MCNICOL (CENTRAL KZN)

U13 BOYS
1. JORDY MAREE (WP)
2. STEFFEN BURROWS (BOL)
3. ADIN MASENCAMP (BOL)
4. MAX ARMSTRONG (WP)

U13 GIRLS
1. CHANELLE BOTHA (SKZN)
2. ANOUSH ZAKARIAN (BOL)
3. RUTH ARMSTRONG (WP)
4. CANA FOSTER (CENTRAL KZN)

SURFER OF THE CONTEST
CHANELLE BOTHA (SOUTHERN KZN)

MOST IMPROVED SURFER
BRANDON BENJAMIN (WP)

TEAM SPIRIT AWARD
SOUTHERN KWAZULU-NATAL

DIVISION AWARDS
U20
WP 12,770
BOLAND 11,170
CENTRAL KZN 11,036
BORDER 10,180
EP 10,010
SOUTHERN KZN 7,440
SOUTHERN CAPE 4,920
ZULULAND 4,360
SA ACADEMY 2,580

U17
WP 12,996
CKZN 11,540
BOL 11,096
EP 11,090
BOR 9,040
SKZN 8,930
SA ACADEMY 7,746
SCAPE 5,710
ZULULAND 1,440

U15
WP 13,276
EP 13,020
CKZN 10,600
BOL 9,520
BOR 9,126
SKZN 9,056
SA ACADEMY 7,130
SCAPE 2,800
ZULULAND 2,210

U13
WP 4,070
BOL 4,040
CKZN 2,890
EP 2,830
SKZN 2,800
BOR 2,620
ZULULAND 2,455
SA ACADEMY 2,355
SCAPE 1,610

FREEDOM CUP (INTERPROVINCIAL TROPHY)
1. WESTERN PROVINCE   43,112
2. EASTERN PROVINCE    37,390
3. CENTRAL KZN     36,066
4. BOLAND     35,826
5. BORDER    30,966
6. SOUTHERN KZN   28,226
7. SA DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY TEAM  19,811
8. SOUTHERN CAPE 15,040
9. ZULULAND   10,465