Life Celebrated on Day 1 of The Wedge Classic 2008
posted by Gareth White on 8th July 2008
The Wedge Classic 2008 kicked off today with a paddle out in remembrance of Christopher Elliott, 17, a well known and loved bodyboarder, who passed away recently under tragic circumstances.
Elliott, one of the brightest young stars of South African bodyboarding, left us on the 2nd of July after being involved in a motor vehicle accident. His untimely death has left the entire bodyboarding community mourning the loss of a friend.
Rest in Peace Christopher Elliott. You may be gone, but your energy will forever remain a part of those whom you blessed with your charm, sense of humour and incredibly approachable nature.
The Wedge has been rather dormant over the past few days, with very little in the form of solid swell and today was no different. The contest kicked off in inconsistent 2 to 3 foot surf and conditions remained that way for the majority of the day, apart from the occasional rogue 4 foot bomb.
Rain lashed down sporadically and conditions were tough to say the least. Some heats saw very few sets while others were blessed with one or two solid sets in between the long lulls. A true test awaited participants hoping to make it to the next round of competition.
The day started with the running of Round 1 in the Boys division, in reasonable early morning conditions. Stand out performances came from Niklas Martin and Gustav Lilienfeld. Winner of the Best Manoeuvre at the Sport Unlimited Cape Classic, Andre’ Blignault and Storm Prestwich were among the early exits from the contest.
Next up were the Juniors division competitors, who had to deal with the onset of the deteriorating conditions due to the subsiding tide. Sets were few and far between and most found it difficult to string together a solid combination of moves.
The Drop Knee riders were next to tackle the surf and make the most of what was available. In the absence of current SABA tour Champ, Derek Footit, the usual suspects, Daniel Worsley, Sacha Specker and Sean Tickner, were on top form. There were however a few surprises awaiting onlookers when Jared Houston took to the knee and put on a solid performance. Local ripper, Samuel “Sampi” Kamffer shredded his local break and easily advanced into the quarter finals along with Houston.
Round 1 of the Pro Division saw some epic riding from Bradley Moys, who pulled what has to be the sickest invert of the day, sticking it with solid style. Another stand out ride came from Jonathan De Lauwere who cruised through his heat.
With conditions beginning to improve as the tide began to press organisers chose to run the Drop Knee division quarter finals. As one would imagine, the contest between the riders was an epic one, and the heats that followed were the most action packed of the day. Local rider, Justin Lindsay wowed spectators with a solid take off into a gaping barrel. Specker, who paddled past Lindsay as he exited the pit, followed suit and scored what, in my opinion, was the wave of the day. Taking off late, Spex, stalled into a barrel ride that lasted for the better part of what felt like an eternity and calmly floated the end section to score a near perfect ride. Sean Tickner, who is going head to head with Spex for the DK title was also impressive and seemed able to throw solid spray off of each of his rides. “Sampi” put on yet another solid display of his DK abilities and forged his path into the semi’s As it stands the line up for the DK semi finals sets the stage for a spectacular finale.
The semi final line up is as follows.
DK Semi 1 - Sacha Specker, Sampi Kamffer, Vaughn Harris and Simon Heale.
DK Semi 2 - Daniel Worsley, Bradley Moys, Sean Tickner and David Lee.
The Boys division semi final line up is as follows.
Boys Semi 1 - Sebastian Koopmans, Jess Leigh, Niklas Martin and Gustav Lilienfeld.
Boys Semi 2 - Murray Van Vuuren, Daniel Thorpe, Ethan Koopmans and Chris Kleynhans.
At last nights briefing it was announced that there would be a rather special Expression Session taking place at this year’s event. A select group of riders have been selected to participate in one of the most daring and spectacular activities in bodyboarding - a Tow Air contest. Jared Houston, Mark Watts, Marc Jucker, Daniel Worsley, Sacha Specker, Samuel Kamffer, Jonathan Oliff and David Lee, will be towed by jet ski into solid wedge pits, whoever busts and lands the biggest and sickest move will be deemed the winner. Simple, spectacular and something to look forward to!
By sunset this evening waves were rolling through in the region of 3 to 4 foot with some regularity. More good news is that the swell is predicted to pick up drastically overnight to something in the region of 22 foot open ocean swell, which could translate into solid 6 foot wedges taking the contest to the next level. We wait on baited breath to see what the morning holds.
The Wedge Classic 2008 is proudly brought to you by
FNB,
Robberg Fine Foods,
Reef Wetsuits,
Science Bodyboards and
Pam Golding Properties in association with Off the Hook seafood café, Surf Café and Flashbacks.
Wedge Classic Heat Sheets 5560 views
Comments
 | Michael van Huyssteen
9th July 2008 11:19 |
Hi All from Dubai,
I am following the event I have come to love over the years and am very said not to be competing this year. I wish you all good riding and hope the expected swell arrives in order to display our sport in the way that would excite any spectator.
Cheers MJ (Michael of Arabia)
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