Patterson Wins Historical Bodyboarding Contest
posted by Olivia Jones on 10th July 2004
Vodacom Bodyboarding Classic
Bay of Plenty
Hosted by the City of Durban – South Africa’s Playground
July 8, 9 & 10, 2004
Debbie Patterson who is currently living on the Durban beachfront put her local knowledge to good use to win the Vodacom Bodyboarding Classic which made history by awarding the ladies equal prize money to the men. The 4A rated South African Bodyboarding Association (SABA) sanctioned event is the richest in the country with a R22 000 prize purse. The winners of the juniors, boys, development, women, pro, drop knee and men’s divisions were crowned today (Saturday, 10 July 2004) at the Bay of Plenty.
“It was so amazing to be in the running for so much prize money, the competition was stiff because all of the girls had their eyes set on the winner’s cheque. Hopefully Vodacom’s move to support the women will increase the number of female riders in the country. It was great to see both the young upcoming girls and the old school riders competing against each other,” commented an elated Patterson with her winner’s cheque of R3 200.
23 year old Patterson who is a former South African Champion has been bodyboarding for 12 years she pulled off a combination of spins and rolls on set waves to clinch victory ahead of former national team member Kamala Botha (Umhlanga). Defending event champion Robyn Sorenson (Dbn) was engaged in a close tussle for third with place with seasoned competitor Olivia Donald (Dbn) who finished up fourth.
Cape Town’s Sacha Specker has enjoyed superb results this year having finished seventh at the 2004 Rock Star Pipeline Pro in Hawaii in January he went on to scoop the 2004 Vodacom Bodyboarding Classic pro division title. Specker blitzed his heat scoring a 9.0-pt ride on the biggest wave during the pro final; he executed a clean Air-Roll-Spin and roll. Supremely talented youngster Wesley Fischer (Dbn) has firmly entrenched himself at the top of the 2004 SABA ratings by landing Air-Roll-Spins on his first three waves to finish in the runner up slot at this high rated event. Former world number three Philip Rodrigues (Dbn) had one high scoring ride but lacked a strong second wave to finish third. Stuart Bradford (Dbn), a newcomer to the pro circuit, excelled with his fourth place result.
South African Champion Craig Maree (Dbn) dominated the drop knee discipline scoring 8.5-point for a hard cutback which he followed up with a floater en route to first place. National team bodyboarder Vaughn Harris (Tsitsikamma) pocketed R600 for second place in the drop knee decider. SABA number one drop knee seed Simon Hagen (CT) placed third with R400 and pro winner Sacha Specker (CT) took fourth.
Men’s number one seed Wayne Beekman (Margate) cemented his SABA lead with another decisive victory ahead of Durbanite Glen Visser and the Richards Bay pair of Andre Marais and John Cawood the Chairman of Northern Kwa Zulu Natal Bodyboarding Association.
Technically difficult manoeuvres and top class riding was the order of the day for the junior showdown. Grant Lee’s (Margate) wave selection paid off handsomely as he cruised to first. Daniel Worsley (Tableview) who scored the only perfect ten of the contest finished second with Rylin Richardson (Dbn) and Donovan Bassett (CT) third and fourth respectively.
Despite a shortage of waves due to a lull in the ocean for the boy’s final, number one seed Emile von Vollenhoven (Margate) emerged triumphant ahead of Jared Enslin (Margate), number two seed Adam Morley (Mossel Bay) and Cape Town’s Andries Starke.
The development division finalists showed great promise for years to come with newcomer Ryan Janssens (Dbn) pipping Grant Payne (Dbn) to the winners post. Kevin Drew (Dbn) and Jonathon Gilks (Dbn) performed well to place third and fourth.
Darren Halse won the award for being the top judge with Brandon Foster (California) taking home top honours for the Expression Session.
The three day contest drew nearly 120 entries from around South Africa. The riders earned 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.
2004 Vodacom Bodyboarding Classic Results
Final Results Day Three (Saturday, 10 July 2004)
Pro Final:
1. Sacha Specker (CT) R3 200
2. Wesley Fischer (Dbn) R2 000
3. Philip Rodrigues (Dbn) R1 400
4. Stuart Bradford (Dbn) R1 000
5. Vaughn Harris (Tsitsikamma) & Derek Footit (Margate) R750
7. Craig Maree (Dbn) & Marc Jucker (Dbn) R450
Ladies Final:
1. Debra Patterson (Dbn) R3 200
2. Kamala Botha (Umhlanga) R2 000
3. Robyn Sorenson (Dbn) R1 400
4. Olivia Donald (Dbn) R1 000
5. Inge Pieters (Margate) & Agnetha Kruger (Dbn) R750
7. Olivia Jones (Dbn) & Zanie Cawood (Dbn) R450
Drop Knee Final:
1. Craig Maree (Dbn) R1 000
2. Vaughn Harris (Tsitsikamma) R600
3. Simon Hagen (CT) R400
4. Sacha Specker (CT)
Men’s Final:
1. Wayne Beekman (Margate)
2. Glen Visser (Dbn)
3. Andre Marais (Richards Bay)
4. John Cawood (Richards Bay)
Junior Final:
1. Grant Lee (Margate)
2. Daniel Worsley (Tableview)
3. Rylin Richardson (Dbn)
4. Donovan Bassett (CT)
Boys Final:
1. Emile von Vollenhoven (Margate)
2. Jared Enslin (Margate)
3. Adam Morley (Mossel Bay)
4. Andries Starke (CT)
Development Final:
1. Ryan Janssens (Dbn)
2. Grant Payne (Dbn)
3. Kevin Drew (Dbn)
4. Jonathon Gilks (Dbn)
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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