Herolds Bay is known for its world-class left breaking reef and right breaking beach breaks.
SCBA Chairman, Francois de Kock, shared his excitement about the new season on the back of a successful comeback year for Southern Cape bodyboarding where the SCBA team produced an excellent result at the SA Champs 2012 by placing fifth overall out of seven provinces.
"Spring tide made it challenging for riders in all divisions, but well deserved 10-point rides dropped to show some serious board riding ability," De Kock said.
"Spring tide is an exceptionally high and low tide that occur at the time of the new or full moon. With the new moon on Sunday, the big difference between the tides delivered vastly different bodyboarding conditions", he continued.
The day kicked off mid-morning at low tide with a closely contested Boys Division.
John Barry Coleman (Plettenberg Bay, 1st) eventually edged out Cameron Watkins (Plettenberg Bay, 2nd) and Paul Rademeyer (George, 3rd).
The Juniors division delivered an exciting contest, with some of last year's Boys Division stars moving up the ranks.
Colin de Kock (George, 1st) completed the stand-out move of the day landing an ARS (Air Roll Spin), which helped him to take the honours from Johann Rademeyer (George, 2nd) and Riaan Boshoff (Sedgefield, 3rd).
Tiaan Hoeben (George, 1st) took out the prestigious Pro division through a skillful display of turns and rolls from Björn Coetzee (Mossel Bay, 2nd) and Adam Morley (Mossel Bay, 3rd).
Last year's overall South African Bodyboarding Association series champion in the Mens Division, Francois de Kock (Herolds Bay, 1st) outclassed his competitors in the Mens Division with some outstanding moves. His perfectly executed ARS helped him to score the highest heat total of the day. Runners up were Johan Nortjé (Mossel Bay, 2nd) and Michael Meyer (Mossel Bay, 3rd).
The Ladies Division saw Truné Snyman (Caledon, 1st) take part in her first bodyboard trials. She toughed out the challenging conditions and was thrilled by the experience.
"I was so nervous on my first paddle out, but after my first wave I relaxed, totally forgot about the trials and just enjoyed the bodyboarding. The people of SCBA is very friendly and I am amped to continue bodyboarding for the Southern Cape," she said.
Johan Nortjé (Mossel Bay, 1st) continued to show his versatility in the Dropknee division, by edging out Riaan Boshoff (Sedgefield, 2nd) and Francois De Kock (Herolds Bay, 3rd).
In a first for SCBA, two Grand Masters took part in the trials, with Colin Horn (George, 1st) eventually beating his friend Cobus Louw (George, 2nd).
It promises to be a big year for bodyboarding in the Southern Cape, with Herolds Bay been included as a scheduled stop (26 September to 5 October) for this year's International Bodyboarding Association GoPro Grand Slam Series, while the SCBA will also host this year's SA Champs at Outerpool in Mossel Bay during October.
The remaining SCBA provincial trials will take place on 3 March (Outerpool, Mossel Bay), 21 April (Herolds Bay) and 5 May (Outerpool, Mossel Bay). Anyone interested to participate or enquiries about sponsorship opportunities may contact Francois de Kock on 082 260 2887.
Results:
- Pro: 1 Tiaan Hoeben (George); 2 Björn Coetzee (Mossel Bay); 3 Adam Morley (Mossel Bay).
- Boys: 1 John Barry Coleman (Plettenberg Bay); 2 Cameron Watkins (Plettenberg Bay); 3 Paul Rademeyer (George); 4 SB Botha (George).
- Juniors: 1 Colin de Kock (George); 2 Johann Rademeyer (George); 3 Riaan Boshoff (Sedgefield); 4 Arno le Roux (George).
- Mens: 1 Francois de Kock (Herolds Bay); 2 Johan Nortjé (Mossel Bay); 3 Michael Meyer (Mossel Bay); 4 Wesley Holm (Mossel Bay).
- Ladies: 1 Truné Snyman (Caledon).
- Dropknee: 1 Johan Nortjé (Mossel Bay); 2 Riaan Boshoff (Sedgefield); 3 Francois de Kock (Herold's Bay); 4 Björn Coetzee (Mossel Bay).
- Grand Masters: 1 Colin Horn (George); 2 Cobus Louw (George).
