Daniel Worsley takes the HB Pro-Am Title
posted by Alistair Taylor on 21st December 2005
December 18 and 19 saw the first event of the SABA 2006 tour held at Alkantstrand in Richards Bay, KwaZulu Natal, and was presented by Hot Buttered Bodyboards, BadBoy/Biotribe, the City of uMhlathuze Tourism Association, Alliance Graphic and Web Design, Macs Fish and Chips, MacDonalds Richards Bay and Protea Hotel Imvubu Lodge.
The event attracted 106 riders from around the country, and was also blessed with a small and fun summer swell for the best part of the contest. Waves on day 1 were mostly clean 3 to occasional 4 footers, with some barrels and rampy sections providing the stuff for riders to go off on. Day 2 also had some really fun waves for the first part of the day, and some really high scoring rides were going down in all the divisions. One of the highlights of the event was the entry of Karla Taylor, 1999 womens world bodyboarding champion, into the Pro Mens division. Karla is also the current SA womens champ, and was looking for a fresh challenge for 2006, so competing against the best men in the country will no doubt raise her game, as well as the game of the guys themselves that have issues with losing to a girl! Karla took out a few guys but was stopped just short of the quarters, which she came within a hairs breadth of making.
In the masters division, Mike van Huysteen once again showed that living in Johannesburg doesn't mean you can't surf, as he rode to his 9 millionth win. Event director John Cawood mustered a good 2nd in spite of being frazzled from work overload on putting the event together, and was followed by John Cadman in 3rd.
The boys, juniors, mens, womens and girls, development and DK divisions were all hotly contested and hard fought finals, and unfortunately were surfed in somewhat miserable wind-blown slop with the odd section that could be used as a ramp. Lize-Mari Ras of Durban took the Women's title in her first contest in this division. Lize-Mari is the current Girls U/16 champion. In the Girls U/16 division the title went to Kina Meyer, all the way from Mossel Bay. In the other hotly contested divisions, Vaughn Harris managed to sneak the win from Sasha Specker in the Dropknee division and Adam Morley blasted his way to 1st place in the Junior division. Local favourites Rheinhard du Toit managed a excellent 4th place in the dropknee division and Nick Phillips a 4th place in the Mens Division.
The pro division was the last heat of the day, much to the relief of the judges being sandblasted by the screaming onshore winds, but the riders did not disappoint, and eventual winner and current SA champ Dan Worsley from Cape Town even managed to find a clean section in the chaos to boost an air reverse, which stoked out the crowd on the beach and obviously the judges as well.
Overall it was a great contest, so a big thanks to the event sponsors, judges and officials and the spectators for coming to watch, and everyone that made the event happen. The next even on the SABA circuit is the Cape Classic in March at Glen Beach, Cape Town.
Results
Boys U/12
1. Robbie Waites
Girls U/16
1. Kina Meyer
2. Liezl van Vollenhoven
3. Geline Derbyshire
4. Carrera Phillips
Development
1. Stephen Janssens
2. Wade Posthumus
3. David Badenhorst
4. Troy Sibilant
5. Matthew van Huysteen
Masters
1. Mike van Huysteen
2. John Cawood
3. John Cadman
Boys
1. Bradley Moys
2. Aden Kleve
3. Terence Pieters
4. Janek Ferrandi
Men
1. Wesley von Blerk
2. Sasha Taljaard
3. Karl Liebenberg
4. Nick Phillips
Women
1. Lize-Mari Ras
2. Ilonka Warnich
Dropknee
1. Vaughn Harris
2. Sacha Specker
3. Sasha Taljaard
4. Rheinhard du Toit
Juniors
1. Adam Morley
2. Michael Ostler
3. Joshua Kleve
4. Dane Beales
Pro
1. Daniel Worsley
2. Alistair Taylor
3. Wesley Fischer
4. Phillip Rodrigues
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