Alex van Rijswijck and NMMU’s Britney Linder emerged from the waves as open champions of the annual Billabong Madibaz surfing contest at Pipe in Port Elizabeth over the weekend. NMMU George’s Roxy Giles finished 2’nd in the Open Women’s competition.
Local wave rider Van Rijswijck edged out Robert Jacobs and Cyle Meyers for the title, while Linder beat Madibaz team-mates Roxy Giles and Rebekah Anderson.
The competition, which took place at the well-known surfing spot in Summerstrand, drew a competitive field that included participants from outlying areas such as Jeffreys Bay and Port Alfred.
Madibaz Sport surfing manager Melinda Goosen said they would not have been able to accommodate any more entrants “or else we would have finished at night”.
She said they had included a university men’s division for the first time to cater for a broader base of competitors.
“Many students enjoy surfing but will not necessarily enter a contest to compete against the province’s best.
“With our top university riders entering the open division, it paved the way for the other students to have a good competition in the university section.”
Goosen said their goal was to grow the event even further by attracting entrants from all over the Eastern Cape.
“We want to make it the top surfing contest on the province’s calendar.”
The main sponsor, Billabong, provided product prizes, while Red Bull and Bos kept surfers and spectators refreshed.
The results were:
U14 boys: 1. Kyle McGregor, 2. Andrew Laverge, 3. CJ Posthumus
U17 boys: 1. Joshe Faulkner, 2. Angelo Faulkner 3. Rewaldo Abersalie
Varsity men: 1. Lyell Watson, 2. Lee Allers, 3. Alex Milne
Open men: 1. Alex van Rijswijck, 2. Robert Jacobs, 3. Cyle Meyers
Junior girls: 1 Chelsea Clotz, 2 Tanith Moreton
Open women: 1. Britney Linder, 2. Roxy Giles, 3. Rebekah Anderson
Student awards: Rihan de Bruyn (most explosive), EJ Klopper (most improved), Chris Marx (frother of the day), James Cowley (kook of the day)
Most improved juniors: Tristen Botes, Marco Venter
