“We were all brave together” — Meeghan Heenop tells me about being scared out of her wits at the Surf Emporium SA Longboard Championships, but paddling out with her teammates anyway in giant waves at Jeffreys Bay Lower Point. This is both the beauty and the beast of a surfing competition. Sometimes you are “forced” to go out in waves that you think are far beyond you, and in the end you generally find out that you are tougher than you think.
At a competition like the SA Championships, where the Border longboard team achieved third place, there are enough eyes on you to help quickly if anything starts to go wrong. Readers might recall last week when monster surf came through Buffalo City. Jeffreys Bay was not spared by this storm and the waves stood up to such epic proportions that the competition was put on hold for a time.
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is that Meeghan, Neve and Anne are living their best lives, riding the challenge with the rest of the 37 members in the Border longboard team, and regardless of results in the event, exited the water victorious. Some days your opponent is your competition and on other days, the sea is your competition. Exit the sea in one piece and you have won.
Read Full Article on Daily Dispatch
[paywall]
It is quite a surprise that in this event only two longboards were snapped in half. Waves of this size usually claim more equipment. The Border team have reason to be proud of their result.
Over the past few years, they have tended to field a team of 19 or 20 surfers, finishing sixth. Between the likes of Wendy Miller, Jason Bowen and the local committee, the energy in our local longboard club has soared to 40 surfers and the team ramped home in third place behind Eastern Province and Western Province.
[/paywall]
All Zim News – Bringing you the latest news and updates.
