Tristan Roberts Crowned the "King of the Wedge"
posted by Iain Campbell on 9th July 2014
The Wedge Classic 2014 started off with rainy small condition and the unlikelihood of waves entering the bay. By the end of day two there were warm conditions, fun waves and a really good vibe on the beach between competitors and spectators. 77 Entries meant that it would be a two days of strong competition.
The final day started with the ladies rounds with many of the newer girls showing the other experienced ladies. Robyn Nutt (CKZN) was the standout in heat one of the ladies rounds, with Melissa Bowles (EP) winning the second heat.
Next we saw the pro semi final heats enter the water with the two KZN riders, Storm Prestwich (SKZN) and Iain Campbell (CKZN), in an epic battle with Prestwich unfortunately not having enough to beat a consistent Campbell in the last minutes of the heat. Semi final two was up with local boy Samuel Kamffer (EP) and super grom Tristan Roberts (Bol) with Roberts beating the local knowledge of Kamffer and securing another final in the Pro Division.
As the final of the Pro heats between Roberts and Campbell began, Campbell opened the final heat with a big roll and scored a nice start. As the heat progressed it was the younger Roberts who seemed to steal the show with some clean backflips and a nice reverse off the top. While unfortunately Campbell tried to do some reverses, he kept getting slightly stuck on the landing and not making the moves as clean. It was the super grom Tristan Roberts who was able to steal the show from Campbell and become the "King Of The Wedge" for 2014.
Roberts had this to say about the contest, "I was pretty impressed with how the contest came together after all the rumors on how the contest wasn't going to happen. The organizers and officials put hard work into what I'd call a successful event. The riding level really impressed me. In the Boys and Junior final the guys were all doing flips and could for sure have given Pros a run for their money. So yes, I'm most definitely looking forward to being back for a bigger and better Plett in 2015."
Photo: Riaan Nutt
The ladies final was tightly contested with all the women getting some amazing rides. The winner Georgi McKoene (SKZN) was able to land a roll and looked to be attacking the wedge at every chance she could get, with the other girls playing catch up thereafter. The fight for second was taken by Melissa Bowles (EP) who rode well since the first heat and managed to secure her spot with some powerful riding leaving Rosie Lombard (Bol) in third and the younger newcomer, Robyn Nutt with an awesome fourth place in her first SABA contest.
In the Junior finals we saw some epic riding from all the guys. One of the better heats to water in the day with local boy Cameron Watkins (EP) not having enough to beat the consistency of the other juniors and ending up in 4
th. It then went to the duel between Tristan Roberts, Benjy Oliver (WP) and Garryd Ensor-Smith (CKZN). Ensor-Smith was fortunate to get some big moves in on the wedge driving with some smooth bottom turns to win the Junior division, while Oliver just got pipped for the second position and Roberts in third.
It was another heated boys final between John-Barry Coleman (Bol), Alex Nutt (CKZN), Henry Le Roux (WP) and Paul Radermeyer (SC). With Nutt and Coleman both getting solid scoring rides it was up to Le Roux and Radermeyer to fight back and get some good scoring rides to match up. Unfortunately it was not enough and left Rademeyer in fourth and Le Roux in third while Nutt came runner up to a strong Coleman. It was another impressive final to watch.
The Mens final was an epic clash between all the riders. Clinton Millard (EP) was able to secure a win with his stylish smooth rolls and good riding with Keegan Baillache (SKZN) started with some solid riding but ended up in the second place. Chris Green (CKZN) was able to get himself a third and a fourth for the local boy Chris Bosman (EP) who unfortunately couldn't do enough to outclass the other experienced riders.
The DK final was a mix between the local forehand goofy footed riders, Samuel Kamffer and Chris Bosman against the backhand natural footed riders, Aden Kleve (WP) and Chris Green. It was the backhand attack of Kleve that secured him the win with some big snaps and very smooth style on the wedge before the local boy Bosman. While Kamffer ended up getting a third before Chris Green in fourth.
In Masters Final it was Johan Coetzee (WP) outclassed the other riders by getting some good rolls and a ARS to make the crowd go wild. Runner up was Simon Williamson (CKZN) with Billy Thiel (CKZN) in the third position.
Grand Masters final was another good one for Michael Van Huyssteen (CKZN) with him getting himself a couple good waves and trying some new moves and getting himself a first. Runner up and local legend Colin Horn (SC) rode hard but was unfortunately out classed by Van Huyssteen while Jacobus Louw (SC) got himself a third.
Development was good to see with some of the rider taking the kids into the water. It was great to see the kids enjoying the water and getting educated by the Pro riders on some basic wave knowledge, currents and some fun in the sun.
The results are as follows:Pro Final Results1st Tristan Roberts
2nd Iain Campbell
3
rd Storm Prestwich
3
rd Samuel Kamffer
5
th Brode Gleeson
5
th Aden Kleve
5
th Bradley Moys
5
th Wilder Schultz
Junior Final Results 1st Garryd Ensor-Smith
2nd Benjy Oliver
3rd Tristan Roberts
4th Cameron Watkins
Boys Final Results 1st John-Barry Coleman
2nd Alex Nutt
3rd Henry Le Roux
4th Paul Rademeyer
Mens Final Results 1st Clinton Millard
2nd Keegan Baillache
3rd Chris Green
4th Chris Bosman
DK Final Results 1st Aden Kleve
2nd Chris Bosman
3rd Samuel Kamffer
4th Chris Green
Ladies Results 1st Georgi McKoene
2nd Melissa Bowles
3rd Rosie Lombard
4th Robyn Nutt
Grand Masters Final Results 1st Michael Van Huyssteen
2nd Colin Horn
3rd Jacobus Louw
Master Final Results 1st Johan Coetzee
2nd Simon Williamson
3rd Billy Thiel
Thanks again to our sponsors:SABA
Ackerman Family Foundation (Pick n Pay)
EP Bodyboarding Association
VIP
Maniac Bodyboarding
House of JD
Pick n Pay Retail Store Plett
Multi Security
Africanyon
Tsitsikamma Crystal
Off The Hook
Silver Spray
The Print Shop
Thiel Board Co.
Vaughan Harris
Park Avenue Stationers
Eva & Rudi Martin
Hildy and Kelvin Strugnell
The Art Theatre
Hildur Houston
We look forward to celebrating another year of a bigger and better Wedge classic in 2015. Hope to see you all there.
3519 views
Comments
