Perfect conditions make first stop of the Lizzard Tag Series a hit
Stop # 1 of the Lizzard Tag Series 2008 at Strand Beach got off to a chilly and cloudy start on Saturday but by lunchtime the light offshore winds, 3 foot surf and sunny skies created ideal conditions for the fifty girls and boys from all parts of the Western Cape who were participating as members of nine different teams.
The five person teams included boys and girls, national team members, provincial surfers and rookies. Each 40 minute heat was run using the International Surfing Association's tag team rules and the contest director, Surfing South Africa President Cecil Solomon, made sure the whole day ran smoothly.
With a time limit adding pressure, each team member had to catch two waves, leave the water and tag a teammate in their enclosure. Surfers needed to finish within the time limit to avoid losing points and hope that their Power surfer did enough on each of his or her three counting waves to see the team through to the next round.
The Strand event was really well supported and team members, coaches and spectators all got involved in the action, encouraging the teams and cheering as surfers tagged their team mates. The focus of the day was on fun as well as competition and with this in mind surfers were encouraged to come up with names for their teams which gave them an identity and team spirit.
Some of these creative team names included Team No Name Brand, Muizenberg Underground, Loskop Surfer Rats, Peace & Plenty and Team Drazzil. The level of surfing was very high, big scoring waves were posted by up and coming surfers like Ethan Fletcher, Tanika Hoffman and Jordy Maree.
After a total of five 40 minute heats and two semi finals had been completed, the four teams that reached the final were the Young Guns 5, Whipping Wave Warriors, Geckos and Rebel Reverts. For many of the young surfers in the finals it was the first time that they would earn prize-money as Lizzard had put up a generous prize-purse of R5000 to be divided among the surfers in the finals.
With R2 500 on offer for the winning team to divide five ways, the finals were a pretty serious affair with some impressive surfing from each team. Honors went the way of The Whipping Wave Warriors team led by Jacob Mellish with The Rebel Reverts having to settle for second and a share of R1 250. Geckos came third and the Young Guns 5 team placed fourth.
The next Lizzard Tag Series event will take place at Pipe Beach, Port Elizabeth on 26 July, followed by St Mikes, KZN South Coast on 13 September and the final event in the series is scheduled for Richards Bay, KZN North Coast on November 22. Only surfers from each region may compete in the Lizzard Tag Series events.
To see pics from the Strand event, Lizzard has a Tag Series section on their website with all the day’s action. Check it out at www.lizzardsurf.net (click on the Tag Series banner).
Full Results:
1. Whipping Wave Warriors
Jacob Mellish
Dumile Sukati
Marco Laubscher
Tyler Terblanche
Bradley Roberts
2. Rebel Reverts
Rigard Smit
Charl de Waal
Tosca Wynand
Benjamin De Castro
Ryan Hayes
3. Gecko’s
Elroy Thomas
Leon Du Preez
Stephen Jamieson
Tammy Wynand
Brett Roberts
4. Young Guns 5
Chandre Bodenstein
Papi Makhanyani
Ethan Fletcher
David Burrows
Matthew Marais
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