‘Chilling’ in Chile

STORM Prestwich may not have won the ISA World Bodyboarding Championships in Chile recently, but he did cause an upset when he trumped reigning world champion Amaury Levernhe in one of the early heats.

The Southern KZN bodyboarder was part of the South African team which took part in the big event.

While he was now glad to be home seeing friends and family, he did admit that he really enjoys travelling, surfing different destinations and meeting new people.

He said a lot of effort had gone into the event, as it was ISA’s 50th anniversary, and that things were ‘world- class’.

“The riding was also a lot harder this year. Bodyboarding has taken a huge jump forward and everyone is going big and doing the craziest things,” he said.

He said France was a very dominant team, as were hosts Chile who went on to win the team event.

“The South African team also had a bit of pressure as some teams looked at us as the dominant team to beat,” he said, adding that the standard was significantly higher than the SA champs.

“The competitiveness and hunger you see in a pro final would be the same as an U18 or women’s heat at the Worlds,” he said.

And as for the big upset…

Storm went into the heat wanting to win, but not really having a game plan.

“I just wanted to make it through to my next round. Somehow I managed to find some good waves and just went big to please my team and the crowds. At the end of it I beat Amaury at his own game. I was really stoked!”

There were other highlights. “I got a deep barrel and back flipped out into a few smaller combos with rolls and spins to the shore. I think I got an 8.5 for it,” he said.

Storm attributed much of his success to his support team.

“My sponsors have always been there for me, as well as my girlfriend, South Coast Surfboards, my coach Clinton Millard, and obviously my family and friends. It really feels amazing going into an international event knowing you have so much love and support from people around the country,” he said.

“During the contest, all I thought about was winning heats, but later when I would look at social media, I saw all the support and it would hit me that I’m doing this for my country also,” he said.

Storm has a disciplined approach to his sport, including eating healthily, running on the beach and regular practice.

“I also read good books which help and teach me to be mentally positive,” he said.

Storm unfortunately got knocked out in the semi-finals, where he was up against teammate and eventual winner Tristan Roberts, and Levernhe, who had progressed after finishing second in the earlier heat.

“Just surfing a heat against the world champ will make you more experienced, he is so good and knows exactly what to do, so I did learn a lot from him. Tristan and I worked together against him but unfortunately with his experience he knocked me out,” he said.

“It didn’t go the way I planned before I paddled out. I sat with Amaury up the point and fought him for waves while Tristan sat further down and got good scores by himself at the beginning of the heat. I didn’t get the waves I was hoping for and fell short. It was a good learning experience and I know what I need to do next time to reach the gold,” he said.

At the moment, he is taking a well-deserved break, and planning his way for 2015.

In the end South African took the bronze, not that far behind Chile and France. A total of 13 teams took part.

Georgi McKeone (16) of Paddock likes two things: shopping and bodyboarding. But she enjoys being in the ocean more than the malls.

At the ISA World Bodyboarding champs, she placed sixth in the Junior Girls U18 division and was part of the SA team that came third.

“I love the adventure of travelling but nothing compares to South Africa, I sure did miss it,” she said.

“The open women’s division, in my opinion, seemed to be more experienced, something achieved with more years of surfing,” she said.

She felt Portugal and Brazil had very skilful competitors and certainly gave the rest a run for their money.

“My team gave me such good support throughout the competition. I prefer to look at the positive side and was excited I had chances to go for gold,” she said.

She had some great moments. “My best wave of the contest must have been the sneaky bowl to roll I got very early in my heat,” she said.

“In my last heat I got an interference very early on in the heat which threw me off a bit, making me struggle to get my head back in the game. If I could change anything I would take back the interference and just have been more relaxed,” she said.

She described her mom Linda as being her most supportive person. “She is always going out of her way to drive around with me looking for waves. Dune Barker is also a big encouragement, always surfing with me and sharing his knowledge,” she said.

She maintains peak fitness by surfing as much as possible, doing cardio exercises as well as weight training to strengthen her upper body, in order to improve her paddling.

She was honoured to have been part of the South African team and was overwhelmed at the support the team members gave each other, encouraging each other to do their best.

Georgi was glad to be home and was looking forward to the next adventure and good wave.

“I don’t think I will be stopping competing any time soon. I also want to thank my parents for allowing me to experience these amazing opportunities,” she said.