A record 25 teams representing 21 surf clubs from all parts of South Africa will be in action at Seal Point in Cape St Francis this weekend in the sixth annual Billabong SA Interclub Championships.
Eighteen heats and 14 hours of competition will make this the biggest Interclub Surfing Championships ever held as representatives of surf clubs from the Western Cape, Southern Cape, Eastern Cape, KZN and Gauteng compete for the National Interclub Trophy.
The Billabong SA Interclub Championships an important Surfing South Africa tournament which is supported by the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa and hosted for the second time by the Seal Point Boardriders Surf Club who won the tournament at at Seal Point last February.
In winning the 2016 Interclub Championships the Seal Point Boardriders earned the right to not only chose their “stadium” for this year contest but were also entitled to enter two teams into the two day clash.
This year the Eastern Cape is well represented by a total of nine surf clubs while the Southern Cape has six clubs in the mix. Three clubs from the Western Cape,two from KZN and one club from Gauteng will make the journey to Cape St Francis.
The 2017 Billabong SA Interclub Championships presented by Sport and Recreation SA will use the Aloha Cup “tag” format which sees teams of four men and one woman competing against each other in 45 minute heats. In this team styled surfing contest all the points scored by each of the surfers count towards the final team score.
As usual competition will be fierce in the water but the annual Interclub Championships is an extremely social affair once the heats are over. While there is no Opening function this year there clubs will be able to relax at the St Francis Brewing Company on Saturday evening where they will be able to enjoy live music from the likes of top Jeffreys Bay based longboarder and well known musician Steve “Steezy” Sawyer.
Grant Beck, the Billabong Team & Events Manager is stoked that so many clubs are competing this year. “ We are really looking forward to this year’s Billabong Interclub Championships and we are really happy that so many clubs have entered. This event is pretty special as it gives surfers from clubs from all parts of South Africa the opportunity to get together with fellow competitors, friends and family. It is great to partner with Surfing South Africa and the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa and we look forward to staying involved in club surfing well into the future”.
Teams must meet at the Seal Point Car Park at 7.30am on Saturday for the official briefing. The heats will start at 8.00am on Saturday and end at approximately 2.30pm on Sunday.
The heats and format are posted on the Surfing South Africa website www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za .
