• Home »
• News »
• Western Province Bodyboarding Association »

WPBA Trial 2

Source: www.sixty40.co.za/wpba

posted by Gareth White on 13th April 2008

Day 1 - Saturday 12 April

The Western Province Bodyboarding Association(WPBA), have decided to split the running of their Trials into two days due to being unable to complete the large volume of heats in one.

Day 1 saw the running of the Boys and Ladies Divisions in contestable 2 to 3 foot, ice cold, wedging surf at Llandudno.

Standing near the waters edge, my toes numbed as the water lapped against my ankles and I felt an enormous amount of sympathy for the poor souls who had to compete in the Arctic seas.

In the Ladies Division current SA Ladies Champ, Pamela Bowren, was in top form and busted her trademark gouging rolls to see her win both of her heats, with Janneke de Kock placed second and Kym Richardson third.

The Boys Division found conditions perfect and seemed to enjoy ramping off of the end sections and performing some solid manoeuvres in the process.

Stand out performances came from Bas Koopmans, Gustav Lilienfeld, Dylan Maeder and Ethan Koopmans.

Day 2 - Sunday 13 April

Day 2 of the WPBA Trial 2 and the predicted big swell and strong South Easter had arrived, restricting the number of venues organisers could choose from and after much debate, Melkbosstrand, namely the waves at Toilets and Tube Wave, were chosen as the venue for the Trial.

The first heats were welcomed by solid 3 to 4 foot gaping barrels and deep pits, with offshore winds playing their part in making the high tide session a good one. Big rolls, solid inverts and crunching flips were the order of the day. The day saw many high-flying manoeuvres crunched by the super-wide-barrels and explosive impact zone.

Later in the day, as the tide receded and the wind strengthened, the swell cranked to solid 4 to 6 foot pits that saw many rider swallowed by the fast breaking surf. As the sun dropped judges found it tough to see the competition vests due to the glare and the contest was moved to Toilets. Toilets is a fickle wave that works best on a high tide, so riders were tested on their skills in less than desirable conditions for round 2.

Highlights from the rounds included Wesley Potts’ DK barrel, Robert Starke’s DK floaters, Deon Meyer and Jonathan Martiz’s inverts, big rolls from Sacha Specker, Daniel Worsley, Simon Heale and Josh and Aden Kleve, who were both also on form in the DK Division.

A full list of current WPBA standings after the 2 Trials will be posted as soon as I receive the results.

2659 views