Heather Shows the Way

Heather Clark showing the style that won her the coveted Roxy Wahine Cup 2007 title and R10 000. Picture: Barry Tuck

Heather Clark (Port Shepstone) was in a league of her own when she surfed to a spectacular victory in difficult conditions in the Surfing South Africa sanctioned 2007 Roxy Wahine Cup presented by Virgin Mobile in association with Resolution Health at Suncoast Beach in Durban Sunday (December 2).

A large crowd of hundreds of spectators gathered on the lawn at Suncoast to watch the Open, U18, U16, U14 and Novice finals of the ninth edition of SA’s premier stand-alone women’s surfing contest.

Former ASP World Championship Tour surfer Clark showed her fifteen years of international experience when she took control from the start of the Open final catching her first wave as the siren sounded. In less than three minutes she had posted over 13 points courtesy of near perfect 9 point ride and a back up 4,5 pointer. She cemented her victory with a 7-point ride later in the heat to finish with an impressive 16 points out of a possible 20.

"I have not surfed the Roxy Wahine Cup for seven years as I have always been overseas competing. I am so stoked that I won today, I got the 1000 Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour Points that I needed and R10 000 to spend just before Christmas. I’ve dedicated my win to my mom who has been going through a tough time after her recent bout in hospital," said Clark.

Talented U14 surfer and Roxy team rider Sarah Baum (Athlone Park) performed exceptionally well in the Open final beating girls almost twice her age to finish second with a heat total of 9.40. Kommetjie’s Tarryn Chudleigh surfed consistently throughout the event to finish third overall in the prestigious 3A rated Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour event with Bianca Buitendag (George) ending fourth.

The U18 final saw a close tussle for first place between Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbosstrand) and Nikita Robb (East London).in the end Rautenbach finished first with 13 points to Robb’s 12,75. WP Surfer of the Year Chudleigh was third and Michelle Imeson (Warner Beach) placed fourth.

Sibling rivalry was the order of the day in the U16 final where twins Alice and Laurie McGregor (East London) battled it out for top honours. In the end SA Junior Squad member Alice beat Laurie with Holly Armstrong (Kommetjie) third and Kirsty Delport (Berea) fourth.

Open division runner up Sarah Baum was the star of the show in the U14 final where she beat fellow National Junior Squad member Bianca Buitendag into second place from . Heather Klug (Glenmore) squeezed past Carryn MacNicol (Bazley Beach) to finish third.

The Novice final saw Lauren Coleby (Bluff) claim the coveted prize of a year’s sponsorship from Roxy for her 10.5 point victory. Janelle Rademeyer (Scottburgh) took second ahead of East London surfers Gina Smith and Inge McLaren who placed third and fourth respectively.

"The ninth edition of the Roxy Wahine Cup went very smoothly. We had so many spectators on the beach for the final and the overall vibe was excellent. Suncoast is a brilliant venue to stage an event like this and we were really impressed by the standard of women’s surfing this year," commented Roxy Marketing Manager Natasha Bellingan.

The Roxy Wahine Cup was presented by Virgin Mobile In Association with Resolution Health. Other event sponsors include MXit Lifestyle, Supersport, Suncoast Casino, The City Of Durban, Jeep and Clean & Clear and will be covered by Boardriders TV, the innovative lifestyle boardsports TV program which is broadcast extensively on Supersport.

The Roxy Wahine Cup is a Surfing South Africa (SSA) event and part of the Pro Surf Tour (PST). SSA is the governing body for the sport in South Africa.