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Durban Beach Pro-Am goes 5A

Source: www.sabaonline.co.za

posted by Alistair Taylor on 21st May 2007

Book your flights, organise a bus, call your buddies to car pool or start hitch hiking now – just make sure you're in Durban in June for the 5A rated Durban Beach Pro Am. Presented by Debis Fleet Management, HB Bodyboards, Bad Boy, Factory7 and ATD, this contest is going to be the biggest of the year.

Besides the all important ratings points that come with a 5A SABA event, this contest will feature a cash purse of over R12000 for the pro division, R5000 for the Factory7 DK division, and R5000 for the Ladies, a first ever in SA bodyboarding history.

The contest is part of the Durban Beach Festival, arguably the biggest beach event in the world. The festival runs June 29-July 8, but the bodyboarding event takes place over the first weekend, from friday June 29 through Sunday July 1, and is held at the Bay of Plenty (which incidentally has really good banks right now, so fingers crossed for a bit of swell, which could see epic barrels running down the line for 8 seconds or more). Bay of Plenty sits to the left of North Beach, for all you non-Durban folks.

There are also product prizes to the value of close to R25000 up for grabs, with a new board for every single division winner.
Debis are also sponsoring a big development clinic, so if you know of anyone that's amped on getting their feet wet and in a pair of fins, bring 'em down, the clinic is free, and the equipment is free to use. On hand to coach the attendeed will be Durban local boy and development graduate / SABA pro finalist Sihle Xaba, showing just how important these kinds of clinics are, and just where they can put people in the future.

The Durban Beach Festival attracts over 100 000 visitors per day, and also gets great TV, radio, and print coverage in many major newspapers – so you do well in this contest, and your name will be splashed all over the country – it's a good way to either give your sponsors a boost, or be discovered and get sponsored.

Also expected to crash the party will be the Road Warriors crew, headed by such bodyboarding legends as Brandon Foster, Ian Kruger, Jared Houston and others. There will be free product giveaways and all kinds of cool things being throw out of the contest tower at times – so besides an early Christmas, kids will get to meet and hang out with some bodyboarding's best, get autographs and so on.

The event is expected to draw a large field of entrants from across the country, and being a 5A event, should draw out the top rated riders in all divisions, as the winner of this contest puts him or herself in a solid position for the SABA title.

Entry forms will be out soon, and posted to www.sixty40.co.za and www.sabaonline.co.za, as well as surf shops country-wide. Contestants please note that the entries will close at the date set on the entry form, and NO late entries, no matter how much you beg, squeal, make excuses or attempt to bribe event organisers, will be permitted. So enter on time, or wait for the 2008 event, and watch this year's one on TV.

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