Umhlanga’s Bronze Beach is getting ready for top class surfing action later this month, with some of SA’s best – including a contingent of WSL Qualifying Series campaigners – due to compete in the second event of the Quiksilver ‘Get Free’ Series on 30 – 31 May.
M-Feb has been on fire recently, and will be looking to keep up the momentum.
Michael February claimed victory in the first event of the series at Long Beach in March, then followed that up with an excellent runner-up finish at the recent Martinique Surf Pro, which rocketed the Kommetjie local up the QS rankings. He’ll be looking to keep the momentum going with a victory in the warm waters of KZN, but there are plenty of guys who’ll be aiming to ensure that isn’t the case. Fellow QS campaigner, Beyrick de Vries, is a Bronze Beach local, and he’ll be wanting to take the title in front of his home support.
Beyrick de Vries will be eyeing out a win in home waters.
And the list goes on, including the likes of J-Bay’s Dylan Lightfoot, Durban North’s Davey Van Zyl, and Umdloti’s experienced Dan Redman, who knows his way around the Umhlanga lineup and a tough heat scenario. There’s going to be some killer match-ups whether the conditions play ball or not. Throw in the youthful expression of an Under 20 and Under 16 division as well, and Umhlanga’s Bronze Beach is set to rock.
Zag 39.4 cover star, Shane Sykes, will be one of the favourites in the Under 20 division.
Entries for the event are still open and you can sign-up and get involved at surfingsouthafrica.co.za
Check out the official press release below.
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QUIKSILVER SURF SERIES SET FOR UMHLANGA ROCKS, KZN
Beyrick de Vries of Umhlanga is one of the favourites in open mens division at the Quiksilver Get Free event which will be held at Bronze Beach one the 30th and 31st of May.
Umhlanga Rocks – The Quiksilver Get Free Series is set for Umhlanga Rocks, KZN, for the second event of its national surf series. South Africa’s best professional surfers will soon make their way to Bronze Beach, Umhlanga Rocks to compete in this Surfing South Africa Pro Surf Tour event which caters for open mens, u20 junior boys and u16 boys surfers. The event will run over the weekend of the 30th and 31st of May.
This three-part series got underway in March at Cape Town’s Long Beach and was welcomed by top South African surfers in attendance. Over 90 of South Africa’s best did battle in the cold cape waters for a share of over R40 000 in prize money and prizes. Event organisers are expecting the same response at the second leg of the series in Umhlanga Rocks. “The Get Free Series has been very well received by the surfers and the various communities, there is not a lot of good solid surf events on the calendar these days so the guys are really excited with this opportunity. We hoping for some good surf, especially this time of the year, and a great event at the end of the month,” said Quiksilver’s marketing manager Dane Patterson.
Favourites for the open mens division for the KZN leg include local standout Beyrick de Vries. De Vries is born and bred in Umhlanga Rocks and in 2014 won two out of the three events in the same series. “I am pretty excited that the guys at Quiksilver decided to have one of these events at my home break. I have been traveling a lot this year so it will be nice to compete in an event on my doorstep,” said de Vries. Other favourites looking to take home top honours include Capetonian Michael February, who recently placed second at the WSL Martinique Pro in the Caribbean, as well as Dylan Lightfoot, Jeffreys Bay, and Durban North’s David van Zyl who have both proven to be big threats in all conditions.
In the u20 boys division all eyes will be on Salt Rock’s Shane Sykes. The eighteen year old has gone from strength to strength in his competitive career and will be a firm favourite in the KZN waters, Sykes recently graced the cover of Zigzag Surfing Magazine’s May edition. Other top juniors include current SA junior champion Michael Monk from East London and Matt McGillivray from Jeffreys Bay who put on a fine exhibition of surfing to win the first event of the series this year. The boys u16 division is a new addition to the Get Free Series this year, Adin Masencamp emerged victorious with a convincing win at the first event in Cape town and will be looking to continue his winning ways in KZN. Other juniors to look out for include Ethan Fletcher, Kommetjie, Jake Elkington, Kommetjie, and Joshe Faulkner, Jeffreys bay.
Competition will get underway at 8:00am on Saturday. The third and final event of the series will take place in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape on the 29th and 30th of August.
Supporting sponsors to the series include Zigzag Surfing Magazine, Techniblock sunscreen, Drift Action Camera’s, Skullcandy, Neff and Red Bull.
For more information, videos, photos and results go to: www.quiksilver.co.za/getfree.
To enter the Umhlanga Rocks leg of the series go to: www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
