SA Longboarding Champs presented by RYD Brand - Finals Day
It feels a bit tiresome starting off these write-ups describing how epic the waves are. We’re beginning to sound like a bunch of over-frothed commentators trying to polish a turd, but to be honest, we’re only here to furnish you with the truth and we’d be lying if we said the waves were average. In truth they were once again cooking; 5-6ft pumping classic Lower Point peeeerfect for longboarding. Here's a compact rundown of what happened on Finals Day of the 2021 SA Longboarding Champs.
The Brothers Dace
Introducing the Dace Brothers from St Francis. Now while everyone was celebrating the Levi Mayes presentation of fine longboarding in the Juniors divisions (and rightfully so) we slightly overlooked the brothers Dace. And did Joel and Rory bring the heat (excuse the pun). Yesterday we wrote that ‘The kids are alright’ and today only confirmed that fact. Dace and Rory displayed surfing mature beyond their young years; lengthy and confident nose rides, cross-step cutbacks and footwork that would make team manager, and man with the most complex footwork, Craig Cuff proud.
The Mature Hayley Hansen
You know when kids finish school (or before they finish school for some) they often go on an absolute party bender, think Plett Rage. Hayley’s surfing is like that of a young women who skipped the party phase, started a business, hit the nail on the head with an upcoming trend and now her cotton shirts are sold in Woolworths countrywide. Her surfing is mature beyond her young years. It’s simple yet complex, tasteful and bold, it’s like enjoying an easy drinking whiskey the night before a public holiday while Miles Davis plays his saxophone in the background. Hayley won the U18 girls and placed second in the Open Womens Division.
The Blues with Makai Kabot
What’s happening down there in Cape St Francis? What are the mense drinking? St. Francis used to be a hotbed of shortboarding talent, now all the groms are killing it on logs. Picture this for a second, wandering the cobbled streets of a sprawling metropolitan European city, perhaps a Berlin or maybe an Amsterdam, you walk into a club, down some stairs and into a dimly lit club. There on the smokey stage is a young man, a young man playing some very old blues. Now watching Makai is like listening to the blues. It’s like listening to The Black Keys (not the latest albums - the earlier ones) a couple young men, with old souls playing some deeply heartfelt rock n’ roll blues. Makai, a young man with an old soul playing some old tunes on his longboard. Artful cross stepping, long nose rides, cross step cuties - it’s a heartfelt throwback to an era we all love.
The Kings
We wrote last time how Tarryn King’s an advocate. She just refuses to lose. And we love it. In the Open Women’s final her competitors threw the kitchen sink at her. Then they went back into the bathroom ripped out the toilet and basin, threw that at her too, but the King refused to bow. With one minute remaining she swung on a bomb and converted that thing to a score sending Hayley Hansen into second. We once ran an event in East London where we offered beers to any human man who could take Greg Emslie out in a heat. It feels like Tarryn’s going to have a hold on this division for many years to come - and if so, we might have to put up some beers for anyone who can beat her.
The People’s Champ
At the prize-giving when Sam Christianson was announced as the winner of the Open Mens Division, the crowd gave a lengthy and roaring applause. And in our humble summations, it wasn't simply because the Open Mens Division title is the most onerous to acquire but also because Sam is the people’s champ. He’s the surfers choice. Nobody dislikes Sam. Sam does this thing where while on the nose, he’ll lift one hand straight up and salute the sky. It describes Sam to us perfectly. He’s just doing it for the love. And if he wins, well that’s sick and if not, he’ll find him on the nose saluting the sky regardless.
The Cobbles Crew + Tom
The Masters final consisted of pretty much all Cobbles Locals plus Tom King. Now if you know anything about Cobbles, it’s ground zero for traditional style longboarding i.e. logging. A few years ago there was a logging resurgence and one of the key players were the Cobbles locals. If you had arrived at Cobbles about 15 years prior there may have been one or two people in parking lot. Now there’s a full-on crew, any time the wind’s offshore, sporting the most delectable resin tint single fins. It’s only fitting that the single fin resurgence crew has a solid showing at SA Champs. And that’s exactly what the Masters final was. It was a traditional longboarding masterclass, not a pump in sight, not a shuffle to speak of, no forced maneuvers or fake hang fives. Dora Lives.
