Firing Surf For Opening Day Of Tiger's Milk Winter Classic At Muizenberg

Paul Sampson © Craig Wilson/Surfers Corner

Surfers Corner Muizenberg: The opening day of the Tiger's Milk Winter Classic at Muizenberg was a sublime day of perfect Muizenberg waves and red-hot surfing across all divisions. Three to four-foot waves, light offshore winds, and an awesome, festive vibe made for a great day at the beach, with competitors showcasing their best surfing for the judges in this Surfing South Africa Speciality Event. 

"When we arrived, there were these three-foot lines in the bay, with the occasional four-foot set," said Surfing South Africa General Manager Reza De Nicker, onsite at the event. 

"It was a nice offshore breeze, then the wind backed off, and it went glassy before the offshore northwesterly came back. The waves were so good for the competition, and there was a lot of great surfing across all the divisions." 

Open Men

Standouts in the Open Men included local surfer Paul Sampson, who banked 13.43 heat total in the first heat of the day. Two surfers from Kommetjie, Simon Winter and Massimo Bienz, were the highest scorers of the round, with scores of 15.10 and 14.50, respectively. Another surfer on his game today was Ntando Nqadala, who posted a heat total of 12.67 in the same division.

Longboarding

The top performer in the Open Men's Longboard Round One was Nobel De Castro, with a solid heat score of 15.00 points. As the tournament progressed into the quarterfinals of this division, it was Jamie Uys, Oliver Packham, and Sam Christianson who dominated, all winning their heats and advancing to the semifinals.

Nobel De Castro, © Craig Wilson / Surfers Corner

Jonathan Rosslind was the top performer in the super-competitive Men's Over 40 Longboarding, with a heat tally of 14.5 points, possibly overshadowed just a little by his daughter Angelica Rosslind, who posted a 14.93 for the Open Women's Longboarding and was also the standout in this division, along with Mary Slijpen (14.17).

Novice Division

The sets continued to pour through in the afternoon, with set after set lining up in the bay. All eyes were on the new Novice Division, which Tiger's Milk introduced this year to give newcomers a chance in this tournament, and is part of the Tiger's Milk direction to grow the sport and uplift the next generation of surfers. Standouts included Dewahl Watkins, Ashlyn Barry, Frances Housdon, Barbieri Alessandro, David Bassett and Janus de Lange, who all excelled in their heats in this exciting new division. 

Forecast for Finals Day Tomorrow

The surf forecast for tomorrow is another A-grade day of waves for all remaining competitors, promising another exciting day for both surfers and spectators alike. To follow the heats tomorrow, go to LiveHeats

For event media enquiries:

Craig Jarvis

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t 082 376 4443

For Surfing South Africa General enquiries: 

Reza De Nicker: 

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t. 079 373 1964

About Surfing South Africa

Surfing South Africa is the official National Federation for Surfing in South Africa. SSA is a member of the South African Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and is recognised as the governing body by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.

Surfing South Africa is responsible for developing the sport, hosting National tournaments, sanctioning International events, and selecting National teams in all SSA disciplines. SSA is a member of the African Surfing Confederation (ASC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA), the sport's World governing body.

About Tiger's Milk Muizenberg

A view of the beach that is home to the surfer in all of us, step through the doors of the original Tiger's Milk. Here, you'll find waves of tastes and times of celebrating the beautiful spot that is Muizenberg. Totally, totally awesome!

Ocean Freedom

The team from Ocean Freedom, which markets environmentally friendly sunscreen products, had a stand set up at the event today and will be there tomorrow. Surfers and spectators are welcome to discuss the benefits of using environmentally friendly sunscreens with Roxy Davis and her Ocean Freedom team.