Vic Bay Quad

Open Men's Champion Brandon Benjamin: Photo​ Zane de Lange

Cape Town Surfriders win the annual Vic Bay Quad in memory of John Pfaff for the second year in a row

A strong Cape Town Surfriders team successfully defended their title at the 2017 Vic Bay Quad in memory of John Pfaff when they beat the event hosts,Eden Surfriders, into second place. Former champions Nelson Mandela Bay were third, Cape Winelands came fourth and Buffalo City was fifth.

The Cape Town team also produced the Open Men’s Champion in Brandon Benjamin who added the Vic Bay Open Men’s title to the National crown he won at the Mercedes – Benz SA Championships which was hosted at Nahoon Reef by the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality a month ago.

The contest was held in tough but highly contestable Victoria Bay conditions.

In the individual finals South African National Team member Benjamin beat the Buffalo City trio of Tyrell Johnson, son Michael and father Wayne Monk, into second, third and fourth place respectively.

Local girl Nina Harmse won the Women’s title with Britney Linder of Nelson Mandela Bay taking second place. The Cape Winelands duo of Penny Stemmet and Danielle Johnson were third and fourth respectively.

The Over 30 Men’s gold medal went the way of a stoked Bruce Campbell of Nelson Mandela Bay with Tyrell Johnson adding a second silver medal to his cabinet. Neil Zietsman of Cape Town Surfriders was third and Jono Bruton of Buffalo City took fourth.

SA Champion Wayne Monk of Buffalo City won the O40 Division for the fourth time, beating team mate Tristan Johnson into second spot. Shane Pratt of Cape Winelands came third and Ryan Kuhn of Cape Town Surfriders was fourth.
 
Over 50 Division honours went to Victoria Bay local and Eden Surfriders stalwart Stephen Hair. Hair beat Andre Mory of Cape Town Surfriders into second place. Hair’s Eden teammate Patrick Cuthbert was third and Jeremy Zinn of Cape Town Surfriders came fourth.

The first Vic Bay Quad took place back in 1976, ironically not at Victoria Bay but at Wilderness Beach. It was originally contested by Southern Cape (known as South Western Districts back then), Western Province, Eastern Province and Border. In the early 1980's Boland joined the event but it retained its name as the Vic Bay Quad even though there were five teams taking part. At one stage a team from the SA Defence Force also competed in the event but it has always been known as the Vic Bay Quad.

After a break of nearly a decade the Vic Bay Quad was added to the Surfing South Africa calendar in 2012. The original format for the event has been retained with surfers competing Open Division for Men and Women as well as Over 30, Over 40 and Over 50 Men's Divisions.
At the end of the contest every surfer’s allocated scores are totaled to determine the team champions. The John Pfaff Trophy, created by local surfer Steven Hair, is awarded to the winning team.

The Vic Bay Quad is held annually and named in honour of Southern Cape surfing legend, John Pfaff, who passed away suddenly in 2012.

Full results and photos will be posted on the Surfing South Africa websitewww.surfingsdouthafrica.co.za 

The 2017 Vic Bay Quad in memory of John Pfaff was presented by Surfing South Africa and hosted by Eden Surfriders. The event was supported by the Eden Sports Council, the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs.

Sponsorship for the event came from the Wilderness Bush Camp, SBS Brokers, Gul Wetsuits, Primi Piatti and FTB.

Surfing South Africa is recognized by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) as the governing body for the sport in South Africa. Surfing South Africa is a member of the International Surfing Association