Sykes and Bell turn it on for SA team

Salt Rock’s Shane Sykes and Sophie Bell have been selected for the South African junior surfing team, to represent the country at the 2015 International Surfing Association’s World Junior Surfing Championships.

Sykes and Bell will travel to Oceanside in California, USA in October with the other eight team members.

Sykes earns his third cap and will definitely add some campaigning experience to the team.

The team is made up of four Under 18 and four Under 16 boys and two Under 18 and two Under 16 girls with a non travelling reserve selected in each of the divisions.

Richard Kidd from Ballito was selected as the non travelling reserve for the Under 18 boys division.

The 2015 SA Junior Team was selected from the SA Junior Squad who spent three days at an intense selection camp in Southern KZN last weekend.

Sykes will be joining the current SA Under 17 champion and new cap Michael Monk of East London, former SA Under 17 champion Matthew McGillivray of Jeffrey’s Bay and 2015 ISA scholarship recipient Ntando Msibi of Durban.

Both McGillivray and Msibi win their second caps.

In the Under 18 girls division two time Under 17 SA champion Teal Hogg of Umhlanga will attend her second ISA World Junior Championship along with Chanelle Botha of Warner Beach who, with four caps under her belt, is the most experienced surfer in this team.

Bell, who is the SA Under 15 champion will join Olivia Izzard of La Lucia for the Under 16 team.

The camp was made possible thanks to support from the SA Surfing Legends, who not only sponsored the flights and travel for the participants, but also arranged vans through AVIS and accommodation at the Desroches hotel in Margate.