Kahuna comes to Kommetjie

Kommetjie, the epicentre of surfing on the Cape Peninsula, will be the venue for the third- and final event of the 2006 Kahuna Surf Series, where the top up-and-coming young guns of Western Province surfing will be crowned this weekend.

Nearly 80 novices from as far afield as Betty’s Bay, Melkbos and Gordon’s Bay will take to the surf at Long Beach on Saturday and Sunday, 9 &10 December, with surf industry products worth thousands at stake in U10, U12, U14 and U16 categories for both boys and girls.

Also up for grabs are the coveted overall series titles which come with major bragging rights, and even more valuable prizes that range from custom surfboards and wetsuits, through watches and eyewear, to an intensive three-day surf camp at the Kahuna Surfing Academy, the country’s top high-performance surf training facility.

Created in 2005 by Dene Botha to foster and encourage contest surfing in the Western Cape, the Kahuna Surf Series motivates newcomers to the sport, giving them the opportunity to experience the joy of becoming a winner by excluding those who have previously qualified for the finals of a national surfing contest.

Kirsten Kingma (Hout Bay), winner of the U16 girls in the first event back in October, holds a slender lead in the chase for gold in this division ahead of Anna Notten (St James) and Glencairn’s Sabrina Scott.

Scott and Notten are also tied at the top of the U14 girls’ ratings, where last year’s U12 and U16 champ Ashleigh Hart (Kirstenhof) is third, closely followed by Alex Morris (St James).

Entry forms can be downloaded from the website at the Kahuna Surf website.

Sanctioned by WP Surfing, who also provide the contest infrastructure, this weekend’s final Kahuna Surf Series sees every competitor compete at least twice before the top four in each division are selected to contest the finals. After presenting the event prizes at the beach on Sunday afternoon, the series awards function will be staged at a venue in Kommetjie an hour later.

The top three in each division receive gold, silver and bronze medals while other prizes include custom Reef Wetsuits, a custom DVG surfboard shaped by Dave van Ginkel, Von Zipper sunglasses, Freestyle watches, Kustom Footwear, and products from Puma Sportswear, Cobian sandals, Island Style accessories, Zigzag surfing magazine, Lifestyle surf shop, Palmers wax and Atlantic surf.

There are also plenty of sponsors’ products for spot prizes and give-aways for competitors and spectators participating in the fun activities on the beach during the event. Call the WP Surfing Info Line on 082 233 4001 after 7.30am on each day for details of the day’s schedule and any changes to the scheduled venue.