Thursday, May 31, 2012

First SA Stand Up Surfing Champs for Surf City

Image attached : Last year’s SUP Carnival Champion Brandon Ribbink (Morningside, Durban) will be looking to retain his title at the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel this year and has been putting in a lot of practice for this year's event. Ribbink and a host of top SUP competitors have set their sights on being selected for the ISA SUP World Champs for 2013 as the Durban Surf Carnival will select the South African team for this world title event.

Photographer: Paul Godwin/Nerve Events




First SA Stand Up Surfing Champs for Surf City

From humble beginnings that started with a few pioneer Stand Up Paddleboarders back in 2007, the sport of Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Surfing has exploded on the South African Scene especially in the Western Cape. As part of the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel the second SUPSA (Stand Up Paddle South Africa) SA Wave Riding Champs will form an important part of the festival which takes place from the 15th to 17th June 2012 at the New Pier in Durban.

SUP essentially requires the surfer to remain standing all the time and when riding a wave the surfer uses the paddle for direction and balance; the surfers is judged overall on elements of Shortboard and Longboard surfing maneuvers.

The very first SUPSA (Stand Up Paddle South Africa) SA Champs took place in Cape Town last year; organizers of the Durban Surf Carnival have already received over 20 entries from surfers in the Western Cape.

The local Durban SUP community are looking forward to having the upper hand of local knowledge and last year's Carnival Champion Brandon Ribbink (Morningside, Durban) and top SUP surfer Grant Roberts (Durban) will both be eyeing the open title and the opportunity to stand a chance to be selected for the 2013 ISA World Surfing Games.

“The standard of SUP surfing from 2007 to today is unbelievable! We all started out on 12ft boards and now most of the guys are riding boards in the 8 to 9ft range which makes the surfing extreme and the moves spectacular,” commented Paul Godwin from Nerve Events.

Stand Up Paddle South Africa (SUPSA) is proud to be associated with the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel.  South Africa’s elite Stand Up Paddle Surfers from around the country will converge on the Durban beachfront this winter to showcase the sport at the iconic New Pier, the event is a SUPSA sanctioned contest and the SUPSA objective is to crown the winners as the South African SUP Surf National Champion in the Men and Women's open divisions.
The winners will be eligible for squad selection to represent South African at the forthcoming 2013 International Surfing Association Stand Up Paddle World Championships.  Stand Up Paddle South Africa is affiliated to Surfing South Africa. Entry forms can be downloaded from http://nerveevents.blogspot.com/   For any SUPSA related queries, please contact Brigette on 083 225 2052 or secretary@supsa.org.za

The Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel also features a top rated Longboard and Waveski event as well as the the ‘Snapshot’ Photographic competition. The photographic competition provides an opportunity for amateur and professional photographers to win fantastic prizes courtesy of Jeep Apparel and the Independent on Saturday newspaper.

Sponsors of the Durban Surf Carnival include the City of Durban - Durban “the warmest place to be”, Jeep Apparel, and Independent on Saturday

Support Sponsors : Red Bull, Thule, Naish SUP, Natural Curve Surfboards, Nestle Pure Life Water, Bokomo. Container Conversions, Mad Dog Surf School, Maisch Fins, Nescafe, Pro Class Wetsuits. Thermo Plastic Concepts & Equipment (TCE)

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Surfing Carnival Gears up for Surf City

After nine years on the south coast, the popular Jeep Apparel South Coast Surf Carnival waves a fond farewell to Scottburgh as it ventures northwards to the internationally renowned surf break of New Pier from 15 to 17 June 2012. Surf City’s Golden Mile is the new home for this multi discipline event for the next three years.

"Thanks to the City of Durban we have been able to bring this hugely popular event to Durban “the warmest place to be”. The event which showcases lesser known wave riding sports has been endorsed by the City and its ongoing goal to market Durban as a surfing destination for all water users. This event will also help in unifying and creating solidarity between the different surfing codes which utilise the ocean," commented event organizer Paul Godwin from Nerve Events.

The move to Durban did suffer one casualty in that the annual kite surfing event  had to be cancelled. This was due to the fact that the Durban Beachfront is not ideally suited for this high energy extreme sport due to the wind direction and the time of the year which normally sees lighter winds prevailing.

“The event has simply got too big for Scottburgh Beach and the timing always guaranteed unpredictable surf which was a plus for some and a bone jarring experience for others, moving the Durban Surf Carnival to “Surf City” will most likely give the competitors a much more friendly and inviting ocean which often sees New Pier at its best as we settle into winter,” added Godwin.

Godwin went on to say, “New Pier offers such a good contest wave that the sports we showcase, which will be SA’s top Longboarders, the South African SUP Surf National Championships  and the  South African Waveski Open Championships will enjoy a wonderful platform of exposure."

The event will offer other surprises and action for the contestants and the general public who can get involved in the ‘Snapshot’ photo competition and a free surfing clinic.

Steve Uppink of Jeep Apparel said, “We at Jeep apparel are very excited to have this event move to Durban. These sporting disciplines are very limited in exposure and sponsorships and by hosting all of the disciplines together in one carnival it's now possible for us all to experience and enjoy them. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the City of Durban for agreeing to host the exciting new Durban Surf Carnival as well as their generous contribution and support of the event. We would also like to thank Paul and Pat from Nerve Events for their efforts in putting it together and making it possible. It will be a really eventful weekend in Durban over the Youth Day Weekend and we would like to encourage everyone to come down to the Durban Surf Carnival."

Early entries in to the SUP event include current 2012  SA Team member  Penny Stemmet (WP), current Legends SA Champion Peter Peterson (WP) and last years SUP Carnival Champion Brandon Ribbink (KZN). A massive contingent of Western Province surfers have confirmed their attendance in all three disciplines.

Stand Up Paddle South Africa (SUPSA) is proud to be associated with the Durban Surf Carnival presented by Jeep Apparel.  South Africa’s elite Stand Up Paddle Surfers from around the country will converge on Durban this winter to showcase the sport at the iconic New Pier, the event is a SUPSA sanctioned contest and the SUPSA objective is to crown the winners as the South African SUP Surf National Champion in the Men and Women's open divisions. The winners will be eligible for squad selection to represent South African at the forthcoming 2013 International Surfing Association Stand Up Paddle World Championships.  Stand Up Paddle South Africa is affiliated to Surfing South Africa. Entry forms can be downloaded from http://nerveevents.blogspot.com/ To be in contention to represent SA one must be a paid up member of SUPSA.  For any SUPSA related queries, please contact Brigette on 083 225 2052 or secretary@supsa.org.za

Jeep Apparel Team riders Dylan Macleod (EP) and Ross Lahana (WP) are the two early entries in the Open Longboard event and both have a good chance of taking this coveted title. And waveski enthusiast Duran Smith is the local favourite in the Waveksi championship event.

The ‘Snapshot’ Photographic competition will once again take place and this provides an opportunity for amateur and professional photographers to win fantastic prizes courtesy of Jeep Apparel and the Independent on Saturday newspaper.

The Mad Dog Surf School which has become a regular feature of the event will be run by Shaun Sellman and his experienced crew will be giving free surfing lessons for the public to attend.

The Waveski event is sanctioned  by the SA Waveski Surfing Association.

Sponsors to this event include the City of Durban - Durban “the warmest place to be”, Jeep Apparel, and Independent on Saturday

Support Sponsors : Red Bull, Thule, Naish SUP, Natural Curve Surfboards, Nestle Pure Life Water, Bokomo. Container Conversions, Mad Dog Surf School, Maisch Fins, Nescafe, Pro Class Wetsuits. Thermo Plastic Concepts & Equipment (TCE)