Despite the small waves, nobody was complaining at the first event of the Quiksilver Takes One To Know One Series at Long Beach. That’s because competitors and spectators alike stared out at an ocean as clean as the Mediterranean Sea, with mountains in the distance that looked like they were shipped in from Tahiti. It was a spectacular weekend.
As picturesque as the scene was, the only thing missing were thick waves. Thankfully, even though the lulls were long, when the set came in it would arrive with a flurry of two to three-foot crystal runners – enough to keep things competitive and produce some sick action.
Jarred Veldhuis was blowing up.
One surfer who made the smaller waves on offer look easy on the eye was Jarred Veldhuis. The Long Beach local would swoop into any left on offer, fire-off a couple of clean frontside hits, before finishing every ride with a air reverse into the flats. Those familiar with the closeout section at Long Beach would know that an air into the flats is a pretty courageous manoeuvre.
Jarred ended up winning the Zigzag Blowing Up Award and finished fourth in the Pro Juniors, while narrowly missing out on making the finals in the Open division after bowing out in the semi-finals. Jarred was on fire, also posting the highest wave score and heat score on the first day.
Max Armstrong was the man to beat in the Pro Junior division.
Max Armstrong took out the Pro Junior division by showing some big match temperament on the biggest left of the heat. The SA Junior Team captain threw some tail and buried his rail for an 8.0pt ride, which saw him take the lead midway through the final. Diran Zakarian (2nd), Dylan Lightfoot (3rd) and Jarred Veldhuis (4th) couldn’t find a similar wave, ensuring Max claimed the title in home waters.
Making both finals, Diran Zakarian was a standout at Long Beach.
The last five minutes of the Open Division final was a seesaw battle between David Van Zyl, Dan Redman and Diran Zakarian. Slade Prestwich had earned himself an interference call early in the heat, so was out of the game. The lead switched from Diran to Davey to Dan and back to David, who grabbed the winning score on his final wave with 30 seconds remaining. The crowd love a close finish, and this was one to behold. It was David’s first victory in a major contest, and will bode him well as he continues his first full year on the World Qualifying Series.
David Van Zyl was unstoppable at the first event of the Quiksilver Takes One To Know One Series.
Click here to check out a gallery featuring some of the best action from the event.
Below are the video highlights from the weekend’s action:
Check out all the Open Mens results here, and the Pro Junior results here.
Official press release below.
************
DAVID VAN ZYL WINS INAUGURAL QUIKSILVER TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE EVENT IN CAPE TOWN
Kommetjie, Cape Town, South Africa – The opening event of the Quiksilver Takes One To Know One Series was concluded in small, clean and contestable surf conditions this weekend. Two feet swell at Kommetjie’s Long Beach greeted over 90 surfers from all over the country at this Surfing South Africa 3A PST-rated event that catered for both open mens and under twenty pro junior boys divisions.
Durban’s David Van Zyl put on a solid performance to win the open mens division. Van Zyl managed to impress the judges with radical backhand surfing to post the highest score when in counted most in the twenty five minute final. “I am very happy with my win, it’s my first win in the open mens division and it feels great. The R8 000 first place check will come in handy and I can’t wait for the other two events in the series,” said the twenty year old from Durban North. Van Zyl narrowly clenched the title ahead of fellow Durbanite Daniel Redman in second, Diran Zakarian of Melkbosstrand in third place and Slade Prestwich also of Durban in fourth place. Prestwich received an interference call from the judges after deeming to impede one of Daniel Redman’s rides.
Local boy Max Armstrong had the home crowd in his corner and comfortably won the pro junior final. He stamped his authority on the final when he posted a massive eight point ride by executing a series of critical backhand maneuvers throwing buckets of spray into the air. Armstrong left his fellow finalists needing big scores by the final siren and pocketed a cool R4 000 for his efforts. Melkbosstrand’s Diran Zakarian managed to make the finals of both divisions and placed second behind Armstrong. Jeffrey’s Bay local Dylan Lightfoot was relegated to third place after some precise surfing while local boy Jarred Veldhuis finished in fourth position. Veldhuis was also awarded the “Skullcandy Performance Award” for a fine display of aerial surfing throughout the two day event. Winners and finalists took home prizes from sponsors Drift HD Camera’s, Techniblock Sunscreen, Skullcandy headphones and Zigzag Magazine.
Quiksilver’s Dane Patterson was very pleased with the first event of the series, “We are very happy with the first event, the swell was a bit challenging but the weather, conditions, amount of entires and vibe on the beach was unbelievable. The level of surfing was top notch and it’s vital that South African surfing has these solid events for our surfers to compete against one another and gain valuable experience.” The two remaining events in the Quiksilver Takes One To Know One Series will be held at Umdloti, KZN at the end of May and at Victoria Bay in September.
For more information, photos and videos on the event and series, go to the official event website: www.quiksilver.co.za/totko.
Final Results:
Open Mens:
1. David Van Zyl (Durban North)
2. Daniel Redman (Durban North)
3. Diran Zakarian (Melkbosstrand, Cape Town)
4. Slade Prestwich (Durban)
Junior Boys:
1. Max Armstrong
2. Diran Zakarian (Melkbosstrand, Cape Town)
3. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffrey’s Bay)
4. Jarred Veldhuis (Kommetjie, Cape Town)
