Festival of surfing

The Umhlanga Summer Carnival celebrations kicked off last weekend at main beach with the Umhlanga Lizzard Nature Valley Surf Fest.
The relatively small two to three foot waves and light north easterly wind meant that the surfers really needed to “turn it on” to put themselves into contention for the many prizes on offer.
The prodigious surfing talent on the North Coast was on display as most of the locals took full advantage of their intimate knowledge of the conditions to take the competition to their piers from other areas.
Salt Rock resident Shane Sykes was once again on top form, securing first place in the boys U16 competition and third in the U20 age group. Gaby Lailvaux from Westbrook dominated the girls U12 and U14 divisions, taking the honours in both age groups. Thirteen year old Calvin Goor made waves of his own when he capped off a sensational year by winning the U14 division. Christian Brand, Richard Kidd and Sophie Bell also put together solid runs to impress the judges and finish on the podium in their respective groups.
Gavin Roberts from Lizzard was thrilled with the event, saying “Yet again Umhlanga produced the goods, the weather held out and the waves were fun for the surfers.”
Full results can be found at www.kzncentralsurfing.co.za.