JBU win, CYOH second @ Billabong Interclub Champs

Props to local surf club CYOH for getting second spot in the Billabong Interclub champs this weekend, as well as some other awesome accolades:

•  2nd place over all – Silver medal
• Highest heat total day 1
• Highest heat total day 2
• SA Billabong Interclub SPIRIT AWARD

JBU winning team: Rewaldo Abersalie, Kelvin Zehmke, Shannon Ainslie, Joshe Faulkner and Jelaine Hermitte

Official press release:

The JBU Surf Club win the 2014 Billabong SA Interclub Championships
 
The  Jeffrey’s Bay based JBU Surf Club were popular winners of the 2014 Billabong SA Interclub Championships which took place hot and sometimes humid conditions and highly contestable 2-4 foot surf at Kitchen Windows in Jeffrey’s Bay at the weekend.
 
Twelve teams representing eleven Surf Clubs from all parts of the South African coast participated in the second annual Interclub Surfing Championships. The event was sponsored by Billabong, supported by Sport and Recreation South Africa, presented by Surfing South Africa and hosted by the J Bay Boardriders who are members of Eastern Province Surfing Council.
 
The JBU were the first team to enter the 2014 Interclub Championships and started as sixth in this year’s tournament but as the new champions will not only be seeded first next year but will also get to host the event as the venue of their choice.
 
The JBU team of Manager Koffie Jacobs, Coach and surfer Shannon Ainslie, Kelvin Zehmke, Rewaldo Abersalie, Joshe Faulkner and Jelaine Hermitte made a slow start to the event on Day One, coming second to the West Coast Boardriders in Round One but Day Two was a different story as the JBU dominated each round they competed in.
 
Their 171.2 point score in the final was 7 points higher than the total scored by the winning team in 2013 and just over 6 points higher this year’s second placed CYOH Surf Club from Port Elizabeth.

Last year’s hosts, the West Coast Boardriders had looked in fine form from Round one but slipped up in the final. Not only did their team members fail to find the high scoring waves but one of their surfers was also penalized for an “interference” and they had to settle for third place for the second year in a row. Their score was 126.8 just 1.7 points ahead of the fourth placed J Bay Boardriders Club’s B Team.
 
J Bay Boardriders A team, the 2013 champions and the Kowie Boardriders from Port Alfred were both eliminated in the semi finals.
 
The full results of the tournament and pictures will be posted on www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za on Monday February 17th.
 
At a well supported award ceremony held on the beach at Kitchen Windows, Surfing South Africa Vice President presented the South African Interclub Trophy and gold, silver, bronze and copper medals to the team members that competed in the finals.
He also presented the Spirit Award to the CYOH Surf Club as acknowledgement of their great team spirit throughout the event.
 
In addition a valuable gift hamper donated by the sponsors made up of Billabong, Da Kine and Von Zipper products was raffled to raise funds for South African surfer Simon Nicholson’s wife Jess who is fighting cancer. The raffle raised R1550 and in a wonderful gesture the Natural Energy Surf Club added R3000 to the kitty. The money will be paid across to the jesswellsoon fund to help Jess cover her enormous medical costs. Private donations can be made by going to www.gofundme.com/jessgetwellsoon
 
In winning the 2014 championships the JBU Surf Club earned the right to host the 2015 Billabong SA Interclub Championships at a venue of their choice next year. They will also be the top seeds at the 2015 South African Interclub Championships.
 
The 2014 Billabong Interclub Championships is a Surfing South Africa event made possible by the support received from Sport and Recreation South Africa.
 
Surfing South Africa (SSA) is a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA). SSA is the governing body for all surf riding in South Africa and is recognized as such by Sport and Recreation South Africa.