Vodacom Delivers Explosive Sporting Action To Durban Over July
posted by Olivia Jones on 8th June 2004
2004 Vodacom Beach Africa
Durban’s North Beach
Hosted by the City of Durban – South Africa’s Playground
2–11 July 2004
Vodacom is once again ensuring that Durban is alive with action over the winter season by backing the
Vodacom Beach Africa ten-day festival which attracts almost one million people to the beachfront annually. Vodacom Beach Africa will be a hive of activities with action in the surf, on the sand and in the sky providing an exciting mix of sports, leisure and entertainment.
Vodacom has expressed its support of the roots of surfing by doubling the prize money for this year’s popular
Vodacom Longboarding Classic making it the most lucrative longboarding event in the country. Surfers will be ‘hanging ten’ on their classical old school longboards to impress the judges with their style. With R10 000 up for grabs the tournament is expected to draw entries from all around South Africa. The Vodacom Longboarding Classic takes place at the Bay of Plenty Beach on July 3 and 4.
The
Vodacom Bodyboarding Classic is the richest bodyboarding contest on the 2004 calendar with a whopping total purse of R22 000. The 4A rated event has caused a major stir by awarding equal prize money to the Open Men and Women’s divisions who will each be vying for R10 000. This unprecedented forward-thinking move has made history in SA and has prompted females in their droves to make the trip to Durban to ride the waves over the 8, 9 and 10 July. This year the Vodacom Bodyboarding Classic is going to be sanctioned by the South African Bodyboarding Association (SABA) which means that the riders will earn valuable points on the domestic bodyboarding circuit that counts towards crowning the SABA champions at the end of the year and helps to determine the national team members.
A completely new addition to the Vodacom Beach Africa is the much talked about Vodacom Ocean Experience. The project was masterminded by big wave tow-in surfer and national surfing team captain Jason Ribbink and his brother Brandon Ribbink who is a former world lifesaving champion.
Vodacom Ocean Experience is aimed at providing a service to individuals who have never had the opportunity to attempt wave-riding sports or in some instances have never even seen the ocean before. The clinics include water safety talks, rescue demos and the opportunity to ride waves on Bilt surfboards. The educational course is rounded off with participants receiving certificates once they have completed the lesson.
Yebo SA as part of their
‘proudly South African’ initiative has raised funds for
Feed SA to recruit 30 underprivileged children to bring to the festival for the last three days (Friday 9, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July) to soak up some fun in the sun. Feed SA is a non-profit organisation that collects funds to feed the neediest via already established care-giving organisations. It is also a project to empower disadvantaged individuals by teaching them how to grow their own food. This will be the children’s first ever seaside visit and they will be treated to the Vodacom Ocean Experience.
Free Vodacom Ocean Experience lessons which are open to all members of the public will be held daily during the Vodacom Beach Africa at 10h00, 12h00 and 14h00 at New Pier Beach.
Vodacom Touch Rugby and
Vodacom Beach Soccer are bound to be a hit with both a Club Tournament and Corporate Challenge on the schedule. Everyone will be included; Children from Feed SA will have time allocated to them to participate in a series of fun matches. The Natal Touch Rugby side have thrown down the gauntlet nationally to possible challengers as their team boasts world series players.
Camaraderie will be rife at the well-supported soccer clashes as teams dribble, tackle and ‘laduma’ on the beach. The
Vodacom Beach Soccer is always a nail-biting affair with top teams fitness levels tested to the max in difficult playing conditions in the sand.
Following the success of last year’s
Vodacom Sand Sculpting event, many new sand sculpting artists have emerged on Durban’s beachfront. Organisers hope to identify and develop the skills of emerging artists from July 2 to July 8 with the area open to the public. Aspiring sand sculptors can enter free of charge with photos of all artwork recorded. The best sculpture selected over that period will be published in the paper and will win a Vodacom Beach Africa hamper. From 9 to 11 July the sky will be the limit as well-known invited artists work on their creations in the designated area. The three-day professional Vodacom Sand Sculpting contest carries a prize purse of R5 000. There will be a talent search for the best developing artist who will be awarded a R1 000 cash prize.
Vodacom is onboard to sponsor the 12th edition of the prestigious King of The Surf Jet Ski festival. The premier Jet Ski event caters for all different classes namely closed course racing, enduro racing and freestyle riding. The sought-after title goes to the pilot who generates the highest accumulated points out of all three disciplines. The
Vodacom King Of The Surf takes place on Saturday 10 July at the Bay of Plenty.
The
Miss & Mr Vodacom Beach Africa pageant is the festival’s official glamour contest and will be a major draw card attracting the region’s most stunning youngsters to strut their stuff on the Durban beachfront. The fashion extravaganza, run by Roberta Alessandri, is open to girls between the ages of 16 to 23 years old and guys between 17 to 25 years of age. Semi-finals will be held on the first weekend (July 3 and 4) with the finals staged on the 10 and 11 July.
There will be something for the whole family at this year’s Vodacom Beach Africa;
Vodacom Playstation Experience will be on hand to entertain the young and restless with their favourite games.
The innovative and unique
Mr Price Night Surfing, presented by Vodacom 4U, the world’s only internationally rated surfing event to be staged under floodlights, launches the surf, action-sports and music extravaganza on the evenings Friday to Sunday, July 2-4. This year the night surfing events are One Star rated WQS tournaments for both men (R70 000 / US $10 000) and women (R35 000 / $5 000) and will attract a large contingent of international surfers keen to hone their skills in Durban’s waves and participate in the unique atmosphere that provides spectator-friendly viewing in the securely shark-netted, stadium-like dome of light provided by the powerful shore based lighting.
While hundreds of thousands of spectators enjoy the daytime activities, tens of thousands are expected to throng the sands of North Beach for the free live
Mr Price Pro music concerts, presented by Vodacom 4U on the nights of Friday 9 and Saturday 10 July. The Springbok Nude Girls, Prime Circle, The Finkelsteins, Marlowe, Waverley, one80, DJ Reddy D, Spoonfeedas have all been confirmed to play, making it an all South African lineup.
Vodacom is also the title sponsor of the
Vodacom Durban July one of South Africa’s most prestigious horseracing events which takes place on Saturday 3rd July at Greyville Racecourse.
Digital images of all events are available upon request.
Issued on behalf of:
Vodacom for Vodacom Beach Africa
www.vodacom.co.za
Issued by:
Olivia Jones Media Communications
082 537 8840
Email: [email protected]
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