Goor wins JBU Supertrial wildcard

-PROMISING conditions at the New Pier in Durban saw event organisers move the final Future Legends Coaching Series event across to New Pier from the Dairy Bowl at the weekend.

It was a great decision, as the waves improved throughout the day with the growing tide, and the invited surfers all put in their best efforts.

After a sobering Friday night presentation on sponsorship by surf industry stalwart Gary Green, the surfers were all determined to vindicate their inclusion into the series to the South African Surfing Legends. With a many-tiered coaching system in place, the surfers were put through their paces throughout the day, with surf and heat coaching, video review and analysis, skateboard correction and stretching and other physical conditioning techniques, all under the guidance of South African Surfing Legends Simon Nicholson, Paul Canning, Spider Murphy and Jason Ribbink to name a few.

In the U13 boys division, Luke Thompson showed good form and marked improvement throughout the day, making it to the final in his division. Alex Townsend was also surfing tight, along with the stylish Mitch Du Preez. The division however, belonged to James Ribbink on the day as he took out the final at his home break.

“Over the three events all the surfers have shown improvement. It’s clear that they have understood what is expected of them, worked towards their goals and have made steps forward, which is what this coaching series is all about,” said head judge Jono Hutchison.

The U16 girls division also showed great advancement, with the girls surfing to contest criteria and upping their games in heat conditions. Kayla Nogueira fought her way into the final, along with Olivia Izzard and Anna Jellema-Butler, but the polished Kirsty McGillivray took first honours.

In good New Pier conditions, the U16 boys final was an exciting affair, with all four surfers catching a multitude of waves. Koby Oberholzer failed to clinch the better waves and struggled to find his rhythm, while Luke Slijpen and Calvin Goor both showed flashes of brilliance. This heat however, belonged to Angelo Faulkner, who was on every good set, and showing some committed surfing.

“This is the first step in the South African Surfing Legends vision, and now we’re going to start the real work. The High Performance Surfing Academy is where we are going to start seeing results as our surfers start going through our professional coaching system and start developing mental and physical attributes that will elevate their surfing performances and get them onto the podiums,” said SASL’s Barry Wolins.

The series winners of the three divisions all received an invite to attend a course at the High Performance Surfing Academy.

The U16 boys winner Calvin Goor also received the wildcard slot into the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA. This event is the most prestigious invite-only event, and it awards a wildcard into the JBay Open WSL event.

The Future Legends Coaching Series has been a very unique concept in the realms of inspirational surf coaching in South Africa, and can only be deemed a resounding success. The South African Surfing Legends’ High Performance Surfing Academy is set to become the benchmark for surf coaching in the country.