11 April 2000 EXPERIENCIA INVITEES LIST REVISED
The list of surfers invited to compete for the R25 000 winner-take-all prizemoney in this year's Gotcha Vodacom Experiencia in Moçambique has been changed following the withdrawal of six of the twelve invitees. National team members Lyle Bottcher (Durban), Shaun Gossmann (Durban) and Royden Bryson (East London) have all withdrawn from the Experiencia as the dates over which it is due to be surfed coincide with the World Surfing Games in Brazil.
...... "I would've loved to have gone to this year's Experiencia," said Bottcher, the current Vodacom Surfing Series Champ. "There are always epic waves and its a great contest to surf, but I can't put that ahead of a shot at a world title and the opportunity to represent my country again. Hopefully Gotcha will give me a shot at next years Experiencia." ........
The other three invitees to withdraw are current World Qualifying Series (WQS) campaigners David Weare, Travis Logie and Simon Nicholson. With two South Africans, Paul Canning and Greg Emslie, having qualified for the 2000 World Championship Tour (WCT) in which only the Top 44 surfers in the world are allowed to compete, the trio of Weare, Logie and Nicholson want to make a focussed drive in the hopes of joining Canning and Emslie on the WCT in 2001.
To stand a chance of making this dream a reality the three need to compete in as many WQS contests as possible, and the Experiencia clashes with a five star WQS contest in Nias which was recently confirmed by ASP International. As a result, Experiencia contest director Richard Edy has had to revise his list of invitees and invite six replacement surfers. Eagerly filling the six open spots for the Experiencia are Durban surfers Ryan Bisset, Llewellyn Whittaker, Richard Sills, Wade Sharp, Dane Logie and Shane Thorne.
Whittaker grew up surfing the point breaks of Mossel Bay and relocated to Durban a few years ago. With his knowledge and experience he should feel right at home surfing the long points of Southern Moçambique. New Pier locals Thorne, Sills and Sharp are all known for their power and skill in big waves, and will also find the Moçambiquan points to their liking, while Logie and Bisset have solid reputations for their fearless commitment in waves of consequence. The group join the original six Experiencia invitees: Dale Bamford, Frankie Oberholzer, Byron Howarth, Sean Holmes, Jason Ribbink and Mark Jackson.
The Gotcha Vodacom Experiencia is a specialty event on the Vodacom Surfing Series and will be held between 28 May and 9 June 2000 on the Southern Moçambiquan coastline. Revised list of Invitees: Byron Howarth Dale Bamford Dane Logie Frankie Oberholzer Jason Ribbink Llewellyn Whittaker Mark Jackson Richard Sills Ryan Bisset Sean Holmes Shane Thorne Wade Sharp ~ENDS~ For more information contact Barry Tuck: bazza@zigzag.co.za or 0827831669
QUIKSILVER SA CHAMPIONSHIPS ALL SET FOR CAPE PENINSULA Over R110 000 in prizemoney will be available to the finalists in the 2000 QUIKSILVER SA Championships which take place on the Cape Peninsula from April 25th - April 30th. This is the biggest prize purse in the history of the South African Surfing Championships - a fitting start to local surfing in the 21st century. The 2000 QUIKSILVER SA Championships, in association with Europoint, Vodacom & TOXIC INK, will feature 9 provincial teams from 8 provinces, all competing for team and individual South African titles.
Defending champions Kwazulu-Natal will be hoping to retain the President’s Cup in Cape Town, but hosts Western Province are keen to maintain their record of never having lost the team event in home waters. KwaZulu-Natal’s second team finished runners-up in Durban last year, underlining the depth of surfing talent that comes out of Surf City, and this year are strengthened by the presence of two national team members, Lyle Bottcher and Dane Logie. Border have always done well in Cape Town in the past and have a talented team travelling to the Peninsula which could include 2000 World Championship Tour (WCT) campaigner Greg Emslie if he can resolve his WCT commitments.
Eastern Province will be looking to improve on their poor showing at the 1999 Championships in Durban, while Southern Natal have a long way to travel and often battle in the cold Cape waters. Southern Cape, Zululand & Boland are the other provinces who will be sending teams to the National Championships. Included in the 9 teams are most of South Africa’s best surfers. Defending SA Champion Jason Ribbink is second seed in the Open division of the KZN team alongside the likes of first seed Shane Warren and former Border surfer Kevin Olsen.
Western Province will be hoping that former national team member Quintin Jones, 1995 SA Champion Dean Geraghty and Galen Hossack will hold most of the trump cards in home conditions, while local girl Kay Holt could challenge for honours in the women’s division. The 2000 QUIKSILVER SA Championships will be a mobile contest, seeking out the best surf on the Peninsula on each day of the competition and holding the event at the selected venue. Surfphones will advise the contestants and spectators as to where the surfing is taking place and local radio stations will assist in publicizing the venue. ~ENDS~ For more information contact Barry Tuck: bazza@zigzag.co.za or 0827831669, or Robin de Kock on 082 454 1149.
30 March 2000.Professional surfing will boast a new look this July at Durban's North Beach as the Mr. Price Pro replaces the Gunston 500 on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) world tour.
The Mr. Price Pro will run from July 11 - 16, and carries the highest rating of 6 Star on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) for both the men's and women's event, offering in excess of R800 000 in prizemoney.
The Mr. Price Pro takes the baton from the Gunston 500, the longest running professional surfing event in the world, keeping Durban on the map as a city that has hosted pro surfing since 1969 all the way into the new millennium.
"We are ecstatic that we have been able to keep South African surfing on the international calendar," said Mr. Gavin Horn, Director of ASP Africa. "The negative implications for South African surfing failing to have an event on the world tour, not too mention the socio-economic impact on the city, have thankfully been avoided due to the eleventh hour support from our sponsor."
Over 200 international competitors and 100 locals will do battle for valuable WQS points, with the men's and women's winners receiving 2500 points respectively. This year's men's champion will walk off the beach with a cool R65 000 and the women's victor R35 000.
"We are excited about making such a positive impact on the sport given the magnitude of this event," says Robert Du Preez, former Springbok rugby player and Marketing director for Mr. Price. "The timing of sponsoring the event in the millennium year is perfect, since it falls in-line with our strategy of extending the brand globally.
Given the calibre of local surfers such as Paul Canning, Greg Emslie and Heather Clark, who have recently made their mark on international surfing, we may well see a local surfer win this premier international surfing championship. However last year's event winner Luke Hitchings (Aus), current world champion Mark Occhilupo (Aus) and six-time world champion Kelly Slater from Florida will make victory for South African's a tall order.
The contest will be the anchor event of the new beach festival scheduled for Durban this July, which proposes to showcase premier international beach sports.
