Dylan & Faye off to China

South African team is the top seed in the upcoming ISA China Cup & Hainan Classic in Riyue Bay, China 

The Surfing South Africa Board of Directors has confirmed that the members of the South African Team which won the 2013 ISA World Surfing Games in Panama and recently competed in the 50th ISA World Games in Peru will travel to Hainan Province in China next week to represent South Africa in the ISA China Cup.

The four Men in the side  are team captain Mikey February, fellow WP surfer Davey Brand, Casey Brand of Southern KZN and new cap Dylan Lightfoot of Eastern Province, who replaces David Van Zyl. Van Zyl withdrew from the team due to other commitments. The Women who will travel to China as members of the South African Team are Tanika Hoffman of Western Province, who recently finished 8th in the World Games in Peru and Faye Zoetmulder of Eastern Province. The Coach is Etienne Venter.

The ISA China Cup will run on November 24th and 25th and is an invitation-only contest featuring the top seven surfing nations in the world based on the National Team results from the 2013 ISA World Surfing Games in Panama.

These countries are South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Panama and Costa Rica and China who will be competing as a full team an ISA event for the first time.

The ISA China Cup will be followed by a second surfing competition, the Hainan Classic, an ASP Men’s 4-Star event that runs from November 25th to 28th.

ISA President Fernando Aguerre is delighted that a Chinese Team will be competing in an ISA event for the first time and is excited about the fact that China will host its third ISA China Cup next week “ For an entire week , China will become the Surfing capital of the World . The 2012 and 2013 editions were hugely successful and working alongside our partners Womei Media and ASP will ensure that this year’s event will be just as good. The sporting competition is always first class and the huge media audience in the past two years is a testament to the global reach of surfing” Aguerre added “We are delighted to confirm that a Chinese Team will compete in the ISA China Cup for the first time ever. China has a coastline of 9,000 miles, a lot of unexplored surfing breaks and there is strong support from the highest levels of Government for surfing so the time is right for the ISA to help China become a surfing powerhouse in the years to come.”

The South African team will leave for China on Tuesday November 19th  and return on Saturday November 29th .