CKZN Surfing Tips Reunion Title

A powerful Central KZN team followed up their victory at the recent SA Championships when they not only won the Team title, but also bagged four of the seven individual titles in the second Reunion Island Challenge, which was completed at Durban’s Bay of Plenty on Saturday (October 17).

Reunion Island were second, Southern KZN were third and the Emerging South African team took fourth place.

Camille Davila of Reunion Island went one better than her second place in Cape Town when she beat Central KZN trio Kirsty Delport, Cape Town winner Sarah Baum and fellow SA Junior team member Heidi Palmboom in the Under 18 girls final.

In the Under 14 Girls Division, SA champion Carryn MacNicol of CKZN beat up-and-coming star, Courtenay Ellish, into second place. Ellish’s SKZN team-mates Shannon McGee and Jordyn van Houtte were third and fourth respectively.

Tiny Chanelle Botha of SKZN impressed all with her stylish turns and reinforced her U12 Girls SA Championship status with a victory over 10 year old Mahe Javegny, Zoe Berdu (both Reunion Island) and Jade Mets and Teal Hogg ( both CKZN).

Both days of competition in the second Reunion Challenge were held at Bay of Plenty which produced contestable surf on both days of the event. Hosted by Central KZN, the Reunion Island Challenge completed a 10-day cultural exchange by a group of 36 surfers, coaches and parents from the Indian Ocean island, which is a colony of France.

Surfing South Africa is the recognized governing body for the sport in South Africa. SSA is a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

The Reunion Island Challenge series is not only part and parcel of the SA Junior Team’s preparations for the 2010 ISA World Junior Championships in New Zealand in January but is also a talent identification initiative that is part of SSA’s strategic plans.

The cultural exchange and International tournaments were supported by funding from the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDTF). Full results and pictures can be accessed on the surfing South Africa website, and recorded footage and pictures are available on the St Leu Surf Club website.