Boardriders stoked at swelling junior section

THE Bluff Boardriders hosted the first contest of 2017 on Saturday, 11 March at Ansteys Beach.

A picture-perfect sunrise and clean three to five foot swells greeted the early birds who arrived to register.

Contest director Karl Ribbink soon drew heats and announced the contest on.

The girl’s heats were first up and Bluff regular Heidi Palmboom showed finesse in the heavy, low tide barrels, pipping Candice and Michelle Lategan to first place.

Nowell Buckley was a standout in the bodyboard division from start to finish and collected the trophy for a well-deserved win. His competent drop-knee riding impressed the judges and gave the edge over Teegan Coulonval.

The turnout for the U16 and U21 divisions was somewhat disappointing but the contestants battled it out in the deteriorating conditions nonetheless. Alex Havenga and Tristan Daley emerged victorious in the respective categories.

An exciting development within the Bluff Boardriders is the emergence of a swelling group of stoked under 10 boys and girls.

A super heat of eight contestants was held in the midbreak and it is encouraging to witness some strong styles beginning to flourish. Medals were awarded to Cade and Riley Grendon, Callan and Ethan Guerin, Seth Anderson, Kitty Ribbink, Braden Pratt and Chad Clack for their enthusiastic participation. These are names to watch for the future of the club.

The open division drew much support from the Bluff stalwarts and was hotly contested as usual. Dallas de Wet racked up some good scores before enduring a grueling swim in after snapping his leash. Ryan Ribbink and Scott Venter were matching each other wave for wave while Ross Solomon was waiting for a set wave for a backup score. Scott finished the heat strongly, expertly linking combination turns to blitz the opposition. Dallas had done enough to secure second position from Ryan Ribbink.

The regular standouts of these contests form the nucleus of the team and will represent the Bluff at upcoming interclub contests. The Bluff Boardriders sent a team to the national surf invitational at Seal Point in February and finished a very respectable ninth out of 25 teams.

Much thanks go to Celeste Jacobs for organising the event and the many sponsors for the wealth of prizes awarded to the top three surfers in each division. Diarise the next contest which will be held on 24 June and visit the club’s Facebook page for further details.