Sykes leads SA to strong finish at Junior champs

Heat by heat Salt Rock surfer Shane Sykes progressed at the VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Oceanside, California until the penultimate day of the competition.

Sykes, who led the SA team as captain was the top performer for the team and surfed his way to the semi-finals in the main event.

Unfortunately, he dropped to third in a close heat and had to compete in the repercharge semis in a do-or-die situation.

Having come so far, it was heartbreaking to see Sykes edged out after another close matchup and being eliminated from the event in ninth place overall in the U18 boys division.

Ballito and Salt Rock surfers Richard Kidd and Sophie Bell were eliminated earlier in the competition.

Umhlanga’s Teal Hogg ended 25th in the U18 girls and La Lucia’s Olivia Izzard also claimed 25th place in the U16 girls division.

The South African team placed seventh out of the 36 national teams which ended on Sunday.

The hosts, USA, won the coveted ISA World Junior Team Trophy for the first time since the ISA junior worlds were inaugurated as a stand-alone event in Durban in 2002.

France were the runners-up and defending team champions Hawaii clinched the bronze medal this year.

This year the Aloha Cup squad, which is a tag-team event, made up of Richard Kidd (Ballito), Joshe Faulkner (Jeffreys Bay), Chanelle Botha (Warner Beach), Ntando Msibi (Durban) and Michael Monk (East London), placed fourth in their semi-final.

The top eight teams in the final standings qualify for the Aloha Cup tag-team event at the next edition of the event in the Azores in September 2016.

The Saffas made sure their presence on the beach was known throughout the eight day event, supporting their teammates by blowing vuvuzelas, waving the country’s flag, whistling and cheering.

Competition sure was tough in the small, inconsistent waves that prevailed in some heats, but overall the team performed really well.

They will return home this week with valuable experience, confidence and more stoke to represent their country at the biggest junior surfing championships.