JBay Winterfest Is One Week Away

© Deon Lategan

The 2015 edition of the JBay Winterfest presented by Woodlands Dairy, is merely a week away. This year, the third year of the Winterfest, is set to be another great year of exciting action sports events, as well as the music festival.

The Oakley X-Over, the popular the multi-discipline 'cross-over' event, has announced an international wildcard in Australian professional surfer Tom Whitaker. A fierce competitor in all disciplines, Tom will add a great international flavour to the event. Oakley has also announced the winner of their #OneObsession campaign to get a member of the public into the event. It was won by Plettenberg local Wihann Kotze. For more on the Oakley X-Over - www.jbaywinterfest.com/events-2015/oakley-x-over-challenge/

Wihann Kotze © Rozanne Fleet

The JBay MTB Open has signed a new headline sponsor in the Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm. The JBay MTB Open now carries the unique distinction of being the only MTB event in Africa to run through a wind farm. Riders taking part in all three routes will be racing through the wind farm, riding along roads that are interspersed by 80m tall wind turbines towers, spread more than 500m apart. The wind farm site spans 3 700 hectares on which there are 60 wind turbines. This project is one of the first and largest wind farms in South Africa. Details of the JBay MTB Open can be found here www.jbaywinterfest.com/events-2015/j-bay-mtb-open/

The JBay Open, the 6th event in the World Surf League Championship Tour, is all set, and awaiting the international surfing contingent. Former two-times JBay event winner Jordy Smith will be in attendance, coming back from a recent injury. Along with him will be defending champion Mick Fanning from Australia, 11 times world champion Kelly Slater from USA, current world champion Gabriel Medina from Brazil and current World Surf League Championship Tour Jeep Leaderboard number 1 Adriano De Souza from Brazil.

Slade Prestwich from Durban is the first wild card into the event after winning the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA in excellent surf at Supertubes recently. Slade is a current World Qualifying Series campaigner, no stranger to big surf contests, and has the Big Match Temperament to really impress in this event.

Slade Prestwich © AVG

The other wildcard is Californian surfer and former Championship Tour campaigner Dane Reynolds. Commonly referred to as one of the most exciting surfers in the world, Dane was awarded the second wildcard by the WSL Commissioner's Office for his recent explosive performances and ninth place finish at the Fiji Pro.  Dane's inclusion has interesting repercussions as a recent WSL rule change allows wildcards to keep rankings points. Reynolds currently sits at no.34, well below the No.22 cutoff. However, he still ranks higher than full-time CT surfers CJ Hobgood (USA) and Brett Simpson (USA). More on the JBay Open here www.jbaywinterfest.com/events-2015/j-bay-open-of-surfing/

The Core Downhill Sokkie Jol is an action-packed downhill skate event that has proven to be one of the most successful contests at the JBay Winterfest. This year will see new obstacles and a whole new funky vibe. The course will comprise of berms, rollers, tunnels and three x 90 degree bends. Estimated top speeds could reach up to 60kmh. It's promised to be a punchy track that will challenge any skilled skater. More here: www.jbaywinterfest.com/events-2015/downhill-sokkie-jol/

For those who are prepared to brave the cold water of the Marina Martinique, there is the Infood Blu Cold Water Classic. Event organiser Brenton Williams is excited about the event and the conditions. "The water temperature at Marina Martinique is hovering at 13 -14 C," said Williams. "This should please South Africa's most hardened swimmers as they prepare to take on the challenge of swimming 7.5Km wearing nothing but a speedo-type costume, goggles and a cap in the icy water."
 
For this event there will also be a 2.5 km and a 5 km swim where swimmers have a choice of wearing either a wetsuit or a speedo whilst swimming.
 
Roger Finch, South Africa's only Triple Crown swimmer is a confirmed entrant, and he will be joined by defending champion Rebecca Newman.
 
More information can be found at www.swimmingplus.com

The Billabong Junior Series presented by BOS Event One - #BillabongJNR -is set to take place at Magnatubes from 13 - 17 July. This event will also have an international flavour, with a crew of overseas surfers entered into the event.

Griffin Collapinto (USA),  Ethan Ewing (Australia), Seth Moniz (Hawaii), Shaun Manners (Australia), Eithan Osborne (USA), and Liam O'Brien from Australia will all be surfing in the tournament. It is the first time that an event of this size has been held at Magnatubes, a great location for junior surfing. All the event details can be found here www.jbaywinterfest.com/events-2015/billabong-junior-pro/

© Aerial Media

The Music Festival, taking place at the Jolly Dolphin will feature acts like Jack Parow, Matthew Mole, Shortstraw, Taxi Violence, Grimehouse, PHFAT and Desmond and the Tutus. For more information and bookings go here www.jbaywinterfest.com/music-festival/ 

An exciting new event is the JBayX Trail Run, a 2-day, 3-event extreme trail run. The JBayX is unique in concept, entailing 3 individual trail runs, all starting 12-hours apart, showcasing the best of the Jeffreys Bay area. The total distance covered will be just over 60 km. For more information go to www.jbaywinterfest.com/events-2015/jbay-x-trail-run/

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The JBay Winterfest has a few vibrant Social Media channels that will be relaying the action throughout the 12 days.

Website: jbaywinterfest.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jbaywinterfest

Twitter: @jbaywinterfest