The inaugural Cointel Western Province Open is the
first event for men and women on the 2005 ASP Africa Pro Surf Tour (PST),
launching a bumper year for the country’s professional surfers in Cape
Town for the first time.
The 2A rated men’s event and 1A rated women and Pro
Junior surf tournament will be staged on the beaches of the Cape Peninsula
over the Human Rights Day long weekend, from Saturday to Monday, March
19-21, attracting entries from all of SA’s top competitors who are not
campaigning overseas on the World Tour.
A total of R15 000 in prize-money is at stake along
with invaluable PST rating points, giving Cape surfers a great opportunity
to earn points in their home surf, improve their seeding in subsequent PST
events and challenge for the yearend series titles.
However, they will have to overcome the proven
skills of 2004 series runner-up Frankie Oberholzer (Warner Beach), third
placed Shane Thorne (Durban) and SA team members Justin Sanders (Jeffreys
Bay) and Andrew Banks (Port Shepstone), amongst others, in order to claim
the title.
The Robarts twins, Penny and Tammy, from Somerset
West, Tasha Mentasti (Durban) and national junior team member Nikita Robb
(East London) are the pick of those who have already entered the women’s
event while a large contingent of Pro Juniors (U20), including strong
representation from Kommetjie, the epicenter of surfing on the Peninsula,
are in contention for what will be their second event of 2005.
As is customary in surfing events on the Peninsula
with its two distinctly different coastlines, the event will utilise a
mobile event format that sees the venue for each day’s action determined
by where the waves will be best. The chosen venue will be broadcast on
local radio stations, published in local newspapers and also be available
from an answering service every morning.
Run by Western Province Surfing, the contest
director will be Chris Dunt. Entries close at 4pm on Monday March 7 and
all prospective competitors need to get their entry forms in before the
deadline to qualify for the ratings points and seeding status they earned
last year.
The Cointel WP Open is the first of nine events for
men, nine for women and the second of 11 for Pro Juniors that make up the
record breaking 2005 PST season where more than R1.3 million in
prize-money is on offer.
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