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SA Champs: Day 3 brings good waves and solid riding

posted by Gareth White on 26th September 2007

Last night the general consensus was that conditions for today might not be contestable, but how wrong the predictions were.

As dawn broke over Plettenberg Bay rumours of solid swell and contestable conditions had begun circulating amongst the riders and the prospect of a good days competition at The Wedge excited all.

The rumours turned out to be true, despite the fact that a gale force wind had blown throughout the night. Contestants arrived to find solid waves in the region of 4 to 6 foot, with palatable ramp sections and the occasional hollow peak. As a result of the strong winds the swell was not incredibly clean and at times got rather choppy, but there were more than enough good rides to keep competitors happy.

The day started with the running of round 2 of the Juniors Division. Highlights from the rounds included some of the highest scoring rides of the contest. First of the eye-openers was Jared Houston’s (WPBA,) solid rolls followed shortly by a precise Air Roll Spin (ARS). Terence Pieters (SKZN,) launched and landed a near perfect Reverse Air that had the crowd cheering. Adam Morley (SCBA,) must have almost bust-his-gut with the chunky Barrel Rolls he pulled off.

Next in the water were the Pro’s and with conditions remaining consistently solid they were provided with more than enough opportunity to impress the judges. Daniel Worsley (WPBA,) needed to do well in order to qualify for the Quarter Finals and he scored very highly with a show-stopping ARS. Marc Jucker (EP,) impressed onlookers with a fluid Reverse Air and local contender, Samuel Kamffer (EPBA,) pushed the limits with a creasing Inverted Air. The biggest disappointment of the day is that Mark McCarthy (NKZN,) who is currently in second place on the International Bodyboarding Association World Tour, failed to qualify for the Quarter Finals.

The Mens Division riders were next in line on the battle ground and with so much at stake competition was fierce. Highlights from the division include solid performances from JP Nortier (WPBA,) Wayne Beekman (SKZN,) Ryno Turketti (BBA,) and Ralph Hoppe (EPBA.)

First blood has been drawn, contestants have been eliminated and we are now moving into the Quarter Final stage of the event. Having now moved into the knockout stage of the contest and things are bound to heat up from here on in. There will be disappointments and there are bound to be one or two surprises as we draw nearer to the Finals.

Organisers are looking at possibly running round 2 of the Ladies, Masters and Boys Divisions tomorrow, but we will have to wait until tomorrow to know for sure-as the weather and swell forecasts for Plett seem to be about as predictable as the Lottery.

The South African Bodyboarding Championships 2007 is hosted by the Eastern Province Bodyboarding Association together with the South African Bodyboarding Association and is brought to you by Science Bodyboards, Reef Wetsuits, Factory 7 Bodyboard Shop, debis Fleet Management, Pennypinchers, Plett Tourism / Bitou Municipality, Robberg Estates, Bobbin Craft, Arnette, Environ and Havaianas.

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