Minor is still Major

posted by Simon Heale on 14th November 2011

An inside look at the thoughts and goings on of Janneke De Kock. 10 days before the trip of her life to represent South Africa at the World Bodyboarding Games in the Canary Islands.

Zone of residence: Melkbosstrand

Age: 20

Years on the sled: I've been riding for the past 6 years, my brother was the reason for me also wanting to bodyboard

Single/Married/Divorced/Other: Janneke de Kock is now in a relationship with Matthew Webster (it's Facebook official)

Sponsors: My parents

If I'm right, we have the exclusive 1st ever interview with the famous Janneke De Kock. Which means we are awesome. Reason for the interview being this - our very own Poppie has been selected to represent South Africa by riding in the ISA World Bodyboarding Games in the Canary Islands at the end of November.

Simon Heale (SH): Give the readers out there in electronic land a little background on who "Poppie" really is.
Janekke de Kock (JDK): Ok lets start of by saying where my nickname poppie originally derived from. During Plett SA's in 2007 I was initiated. I had big red lips drawn all over my face, platted hair that stood up like antennas on my head and the word poppie written on my forehead. From that day onwards I was known as poppie. I'm actually just an ordinary down to earth Afrikaans girl from Melkbosstrand. I grew up with a bunch of guys and that's how I ended up bodyboarding. Everything they did I followed. Some days they pushed me onto such heavy waves that I didn't know if ill get out of there alive. I'm currently studying hotel management at the Granger Bay hotel school. I've got a passion for cooking and art. I'm a very soft hearted person and I stand for world peace!!!! I love chocolate.

SH: You've made the WP team for the past 5 years, and you have endured a lot of, let say, unpleasantries, with regards to u being the only girl rider there and having to deal with boy stuff. ewwwww. How have you coped with that?
JDK: Agh I suppose because I have a twin brother and a lot of rough guy friends I've grown use to the "unpleasantries". Guys will always be guys. I believe if you can't beat them join them so I just take them with a pinch of salt. Being the only girl in the team was never a big issue for me because my team members became like brothers to me and always looked after me. I always had the reassurance that they'll stand behind me!!! Guys are great friends to have!

SH: How pumped are you to get to the Canaries?
JDK: This is probably the most difficult thing to explain to someone!!! I overdose on excitement every day.

SH: What goes through your mind when you think, "World Games, Canaries, heavy reef, warm water, the worlds best"?
JDK: A mixture of emotions, exited, scared, stoked. I don't think there is anything I can do to mentally prepare me for what is coming.

SH: Have you been doing any training in preparation for this awesome achievement?
JDK: Yes, lots and lots of training: I swim and jog everyday. Every second day I do cardio and I've also been attending some pilates classes lately. And then of course don't forget about the surfing, I try to surf as often as possible in any conditions. The other day we were surfing Yzerfontein and I hit my head really hard against the sandbank so David Lillienfeld, also a member of the SA Team, just said, "don't worry it will just harden you up for Canaries."

SH: Men have heard this phrase thrown around for many years and we tend to just brush it off as hoo haa and that is ... always get a woman's perspective.

Okay fine, now's our opportunity so, what do you think about the state of Bodyboarding in South Africa, in every aspect? Sponsorship, riders, riding ability, waves, contests, travels, mags, footage. Give us a woman's insight from someone who's been there.

JDK:
Sponsorship: No comment ... I believe sponsors should chase riders and not the other way around like at the moment. They should get involved in the sport and actually put something back into it. There is a big debate on Facebook about this. Go check out the South African bodyboarding Truth and Reconciliation Group.

Riders: I would like to see more girls out there. I believe that there are a lot of girls with great talent and it would be amazing to have more girls competing on the SABA circuit.

Riding ability: We have some brilliant riders and lots of up and coming groms with excellent talent. I'm proud to say that SA has delivered a fair amount of international riders like Sacha Specker, Jared Houston, Aden Kleve and Mark McCarthy who are all dominating on an international level.

Waves: South Africa has pumping waves especially up the west coast. I believe there are still a lot of undiscovered spots that have a lot to offer and we are truly blessed with world class waves.

Contests: According to me the contests on the SABA circuit is of a very high level regarding riding etc. I've always enjoyed traveling to the contests to take part.

Footage: It would be cool if we could try to get some more footage onto the television so that our sport can get more coverage and be regarded on the same level as stand up surfing. People often have a wrong perception of what bodyboarding is due to the fact that it doesn't get enough coverage. Lately we have been seeing some footage on the TV like the wedge classic and the Tand invitational comp which is a real good start. Keep it coming!!

Mags: We don't really have a South African bodyboarding magazine anymore apart from Sixty40 which has now become an online mag. In the near future I would like to see Sixty40 becoming a hard-copy magazine again. I know it is very expensive to get it printed but if each bodyboarder supports Sixty40 and buy a copy each month I believe they'll make enough profit to print hard copies. Come on guys support this magazine they are doing a great job!!!


SH: Finally, Do you have any big plans to go pro with bodyboarding? maybe following the WWT (Woman's World Tour) or even collecting sponsors to be able to island hop and get shots?
This is a big dream for me to actually be able to take part in the WWT and see how it is done on international level. But first things first I still have a year left of studying and after that I'll definitely consider following the WWT. I believe anything is possible if you put your mind to it!!

Thanks for the interview sixty40. We will fly the South African flag high!!


SH: From everyone at Sixty40 and the entire bodyboarding community in South Africa we say "YOU CAN DO IT, SHOW THEN HOW ITS DONE!" best of luck to you and the rest of the SA team. We can't wait to hear back from you all.

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