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| Max Armstrong with a big Slob Air, winning the Zigzag Blowing Up Award (Photo:AVG) |
In the Girls it was Tanika Hoffman who really impressed me the whole event. She ran out of steam in the finals, but that's ok. A bit more international experience and a little more killer instinct and she can go far. (She is a super nice, maybe to nice. She needs some aggro out in the water.) In the Woman's competition Nikita Robb was in a league of her own. Even in the free surf before Day 4 got under way, she was the only woman out in the line up at Misty Cliffs mixing it with the guys. She won hands down and I hope she takes that win on the road to France with her and back to the WCT.
In the boys division one guy stood way above the others. Mikey February is looking the full picture. Big power turns, the full air repertoire on demand and he simply makes surfing a heat look casual and easy. Like a mix between Parko and Jordy. The kid has a big future ahead of him. Max Armstrong is also worth looking out for. The kid was swinging with guys 2-3 years older and holding his own. I also enjoyed watching Jared Veldhuis surf and will be worth keeping an eye on him.
In the men it is hard to start. The old guard of Greg Emslie and Shane Thorne, still ripping and giving it hard to the younger guys. Ryan Payne called it when named Greg, "The Wave Whisperer". Dan Redman was on fire. He kept it simple, by which I mean he treated waves with disdain, power carving and snapping their lips into annihilation. Beyrick de Vries is the complete package. He busted some of the biggest and cleanest airs I have seen in competition and backed this up with solid turns and tube riding. Casey Grant flew a little under the radar, but he certainly made it count when it mattered. Casey is awesome to watch surf!
So have no fear - we have the surfers, now we just need them to get the right support to go out there and take over the world.
In the team awards it was Western Province continuing their undefeated series of victories on home soil. WP have yet to be beaten whenever the SA Champs are held in Cape Town.
In the U20 Girls Heidi Palmboom from KZNC is the new champion. She beat Tanika Hoffman (WP), Emma Smith (EP) and Nikita Kekana (SKZN) into second, third and fourth place respectively.
The U20 Boys was an air-off between Mikey February (WP) and Dylan Lightfoot (EP), with local boy February getting the nod and beating Lightfoot into second. Jarred Veldhuis (EP) was third and Steven Sawyer (EP) came in fourth place.
Nikita Robb from Border was the eventual winner in the Open Women’s division, retaining her title in the process. She beat Chantelle Rautenbach (Bol) in second, Tarryn Chudleigh (WP) in third and Krystal Tavenor (Bol) in fourth place.
The 2012 Open Mens Champion is Casey Grant (SKZN). Dan Redman (KZNC) was a close second, ahead of Beyrick De Vries (KZNC) in third and defending champion Greg Emslie (Bor) in fourth.
The VonZipper Air Show was a punt-fest into the cross shore conditions, with Diran Zakarian (Bol) taking it, and the R1000.
One of the new awards, the Kustom Kustomized Maneuver, went to Jared Veldhuis (WP) along with the R1000 prizemoney.
The DaKine Highest Heat Score Award and R1000 went to Dan Redman for the highest heat score of the event with 17 points.
The Zigzag Blowing Up Award and R3000 went to Max Armstrong (WP).
The BuchuLife Performance Award and R2000 went to Nikita Kekana (SKZN)
The final team placings were:
1. WP – 43950
2. KZNC – 38782
3. EP – 37418
4. BOR – 36840
5. BOL – 35528
6. SKZN – 33990
7. SC – 24660
8. Zul – 19736
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