WP Easily Best of SA at Easter Grommet Games

The Fogi’s Western Province Grommet team are the champions after beating KZN Central into second place by a significant margin of 3 347 points, at the 21st edition of the Billabong SA Grommet Games, a Surfing South Africa transformation & development project hosted by the EP Surfing Council, sponsored by Billabong and supported by Sport & Recreation South Africa at The Pipe, Pollock Beach, Port Elizabeth, over the Easter weekend from 28-31 March, 2013.

In the individual surfing categories, KZN Central’s Sam Cele was awarded the Sportsmanship Trophy, for her grace and courtesy throughout the event, Bronwyn Moodie (Boland) won gold in the U16 Girls final and Christy Gilmour (KZNC) became the U14 Girls champion, with Juliet Fiet (Boland) winning the Under 12 Girls gold medal.

Not only did the team in blue and white successfully defend the Mandela Bay Trophy, which is awarded to the team that accumulates the highest number of points across all disciplines, but they also won the Surfing Trophy and the Best Team trophy that goes to the team showing the most team spirit throughout the event, as well as the Tag Team Trophy.

A massive cold front hit the Eastern Cape on Saturday morning, resulting in the event being run in driving rain for two days, but nothing could dampen the spirits of the surfers, underlining the fact that the event is one of the highlights of the annual Surfing South Africa calendar.

Western Province’s dominance is a credit to the excellent administration and coaching of a group of girls and boys by a dedicated management team. Western Province had their team well trained and highly motivated for the tournament and can be proud of the way they conducted themselves both in and out of the water.

Over 120 girls and boys from eight provincial associations took part in the annual event which is Surfing South Africa’s premier entry level inter-provincial tournament.

Sponsorship from Billabong and funding support from Sport and Recreation South Africa ensured that the 21st SA Grommet Games was a huge success once again.

Thanks to the commitment and effort by event Secretary Shirley Fairall and her team of officials, hard work by Mike Fairall, support from SSA Vice President Johnny Bakker and his wife Hannelie and dedication by announcer Tasha Mentasti, contest director Chris Dunt and senior judge Brad Beck and his team were able to complete the tournament without a hitch.

In addition Eastern Province Surfing Council, under the guidance of Chairman Brian Abrahams, were great hosts.

The SA Grommet Games is a tournament with a primary focus on transformation and development within the sport. Provincial structures are set strict criteria when selecting their teams for the four days of competition. While the main focus of the event is on surfing, participation in events such as a Paddle Battle, Beach Flags and Tag Team contest are included in the activities.

The full results of all the events are attached and are also available on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za.