Source: Surfing South Africa - www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

The Board of Directors of Surfing South Africa has named the surfers who will represent South Africa at the 2010 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships in New Zealand held from January 21^st through the 28^th.

Under 18 Boys
Beyrick de Vries
Michael February
David Brand
Dane Staples
Non traveling reserve: Jacob Mellish

Under 18 Girls
Bianca Buitendag

Sarah Baum

Tanika Hofmann
Heidi Palmboom
Non traveling reserve: Holly Armstrong

Under 16 Boys

Steven Sawyer
Dylan Lightfoot
Jarred Veldhuis
Diran Zakarian
Non traveling reserve: Slade Prestwich

Team Manager

Pax Nydoo

Head Coach
Graham Hynes

2009 Reef Wetsuits South African Masters Championships
A premier Surfing South Africa Tournament
Inner & Outer Pool, Mossel Bay
October 15-18, 2009

A strong and highly motivated Border team deservedly won the team title at the 2009 Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Championships which was completed after four days of competition in great conditions at Outer and Inner Pool in Mossel Bay on Sunday, October 18th.

This is the third year in a row that the team from East London has won the Masters Cup and underlines the depth and passion there is for Masters surfing in Border. Their winning total of 31,000 points was less than the 34,000 points that won them the title at Nahoon Reef in East London last year, but the Border team finished some 6000 points ahead of second place Central KZN. Central KZN on the other hand, beat Western Province by 500 points.

The hosts, Southern Cape, placed fourth. They beat Eastern Province who moved to fifth from a second place finish in 2008. Boland came in sixth and Southern KZN placed seventh.

Over 100 surfers participated in the fifth edition of the Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Championships, which made history when it became the first ever Surfing South Africa Interprovincial tournament to take place at Mossel Bay.

Full Results: 2009 Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Championships

SENIORS (OVER 30)
1. LLEWELLYN WHITTAKER: SCAPE
2. CRAIG ELS: SKZN
3. PAUL PROCTOR: BOR
4. GRAEME FIELD: WP

MASTERS (OVER 35)
1. ANDREW BANKS: SKZN
2. WAYNE MONK: BOR
3. GARY VAN WIERINGEN: SKZN
4. STEPHAN LINDEQUE: BOLAND

GRANDMASTERS (OVER 40)
1. DAVE MALHERBE: BOR
2. ROB MOORE – BOYLE: CKZN
3. ANDRE MALHERBE: BOR
4. GARETH SEPP: BOR

KAHUNAS (OVER 45)
1. NICK PIKE: BOR
2. SEAN JERRAM: WP
3. MIKE BRENT: BOR
4. TREVOR HANSEN: EP

GRANDKAHUNAS (OVER 50)
1. CHRIS KNUTSEN: CKZN
2. GRANTLEY READ: CKZN
3. JEREMY ZINN: WP
4. NICK KRONE: S/CAPE

VETERANS (OVER 55)
1. GLEN BOWLES: EP
2. LEONARD GILES: SCAPE
3. JOHN ELLIOTT: EP
4. HEINIE MEIRING: BOR

PROVINCIAL TEAMS
1. BORDER: 31200
2. CENTRAL KWAZULU-NATAL: 25554
3. WESTERN PROVINCE: 25000
4. SOUTHERN CAPE: 24490
5. EASTERN PROVINCE: 23860
6. BOLAND: 21844
7. SOUTHERN KZN: 20722

Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge Final
7 Countries – 1 Champion - 5,000
October 7-17, 2009
Keramas, Bali – Indonesia

(Oct. 16, 2009) – South Africa’s Brendon Gibbens and Shaun Joubert finished fifth and ninth respectively, as Australian Sam Wrench was crowned the 2009 Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge champion in Bali yesterday.

Joubert (Mossel Bay) and Gibbens (Kommetjie), both 18-year-old students, qualified for the prestigious 18-man field in the world’s richest Pro Junior series by taking the top two spots in the Oakley Pro Junior event at Port Alfred at the beginning of May. This allowed the pair to join other top surfers from five other countries plus six wildcards in the Global Final.

Set for Keramas River mouth in Bali, and touted as one of the planet’s premier high performance waves, organizers ensured the competitors enjoyed stellar conditions on each day of the event by only running a handful of heats when the waves, wind and tide were at their best.

Both of the South Africans were on fire in the opening round with Joubert winning the first heat of the event in flawless one meter waves ahead of eventual champion Sam Wrench (AUS) and Charly Martin (FRA) while Gibbens defeated last year’s runner-up Marc Lacomare (FRA) and Mustofa Jeksen (IND) to advance directly to Round 3.

The seeding for the event pitted the two South Africans against each other in a highly entertaining tube-riding shootout. Joubert held the upper hand for almost the entire heat, showing his brilliant skills, but then Gibbens pulled into what many considered the wave of day with just two minutes remaining. He maintained perfect poise through a huge barreling section to score a 9.5 out of 10 and push to the lead.

"It was make or break for me on that wave," exclaimed Gibbens. "Luckily I love riding big barrels at home in Cape Town and I was familiar with what I had to do to make the thing. I just held my nerve and held my line on the wave and I made it."

Joubert made a valiant attempt to regain the lead a little too late in the final minute on a bomb, 2.5 metre (8 foot) set wave, committing to a huge tube but just failing to make a clean exit on the ride which would have certainly been a perfect 10.

"When I saw Shaun (Joubert) take the last wave I thought he'd regain the lead," said Gibbens. "He's such a great tube rider, especially in big waves, but he didn't so I was fully relieved to win."

Joubert, who finished third in the inaugural version of the event last year, placed ninth overall this year, pocketing US ,500 (approx. R18 000), while Gibbens moved into the quarterfinals and a repeat match-up with Lacomare.

This time it was the Frenchman’s turn for victory and despite several high-flying aerial maneuvers from the Capetonian, Gibbens was eliminated in equal fifth place with earnings of US ,500.

Wrench overcame reigning ASP World Pro Junior champ Kai Barger (HAW) in the semis while Lacomare marched into the final by beating Alejo Muniz (BRA). Lacomare started strong in the finale, opening with a 7 point ride, but Wrench clinched the crown with two deep tube rides in the last 10 minutes, consigning the Frenchman to his second consecutive runner-up finish.

This victory netted Wrench US,000, the biggest prize purse in Pro Junior surfing. The un-sponsored 19 year-old from Ulladulla on the south coast of NSW entered the Bali event through an alternate ticket made available when fellow countryman Owen Wright pulled out in order to pursue ASP World Qualifying Series points.

“It’s such an amazing wave,” said Wrench. “You can score big in lots of ways, either tube riding, on-face or even aerials. I found getting the longer tube rides suited me and it worked for me today.”

Wrench joins last year’s inaugural winner Dusty Payne (Hawaii) on the prestigious winner’s list of the Oakley Pro Junior Global Challenge.