Wedge Classic 09 - Day 1

posted by Pat Harris on 7th July 2009

The first day of The Wedge Classic 09 kicked off with round 1's of all divisions in very trying, but contestable 2 -3 ft conditions.

During the day the winds swung from offshore to onshore with swell increasing slightly for riders to give a better show of their contest riding abilities. Using a 3 man panel out of 4 judges, it wasn't hard to pinpoint the standouts of the day.

In the Junior division, Aden Kleve, was the clear standout with smooth clean textbook riding, which saw him advance to the semi final

In the Men's division, Douw Steyn, advanced through to semi finals, with good barrel riding to roll combos, where he will meet winner of the Men's division at The Wedge Classic 2007 and 2008, local lad, Ryan Jucker.

In the DK division Nomad team rider, Sacha Specker, showed his dominance by winning his heat and advancing through to semi finals where he will be up against SABA No 1, Sean Tickner.

Unfortunately Day 1 brought a number of upsets, namely Darren Halse, in the Pro division, who was unlucky to advance needing just another scoring ride sneak past the Brothers Kleve (Joshua and Aden), who both advanced to the Pro quarter finals.

There were also big upsets in the Boys division when last year's winner, Murray van Vuuren, was knocked in the semi finals. Making it through to the Boys finals were Roger Pardoe, Wesley Coetzee, Stephan du Preez and local contender, Niklas Martin.

In between the action taking place in the water the crowd were entertained by loads of "fun" land based activities like sand castle building, sprints across the beach. The event sponsors have been more than generous in their donations this year and today alone almost R4500 worth of prizes were given out for the lucky winners to attend places like Monkey Land, Birds of Eden and participate in whale watching and sea-kayaking adventures as well as vouchers from Elephant Sanctuary.

Conditions predicted for Day 2 are expected to remain relatively unchanged with the exception of light offshore winds and a constant swell. Tomorrow will see the pro quarters kicking off with a very hungry top 16 showing their skills in the water and going after last years winner, Vaughn Harris's, title of "King of the Wedge" followed by 10 riders in the Expression Session.

Wedge Classic Heat Sheets

Stay tuned to sixty40 for daily updates.

The Wedge Classic 09 is proudly brought to you by Nomad Bodyboards, Bitou Tourism and The Surf Shop in association with Spur Steak Ranches, Beacon Isle Hotel, Ocean Safaries, Dolphin Adventures, Birds of Eden, Summer Sands beach shop, Massage for Life, Crawford Sports, Round Table Plett, The Computer Shop, Wild Thing Paintball, Coastal Hire, Tenikwa Wildlife Centre, Face Adrenaline, Skydive Plett, The Music Box, Events & Tents and Monkey Land.


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hip.kidhip.kid
8th July 2009 13:31
please guys some pics for those of us who can't get away from the hamster wheel

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