Durban Gears Up For Prestigious Cell C Goodwave Surfing Event
Durban – Known as one of the best beach-breaks in the world, the New Pier in Durban is set to host the exciting Cell C Goodwave surfing event during the next good swell.
Rated as a World Surf League Specialty Event, the contest has a one year waiting period, costs one Rand to enter, and has a massive first prize of R100k, the largest domestic prize for the sport in South Africa. Contestants need to have a 1 Rand coin to enter on the day, no change will be given, and no entry fee paid means no surfing.
It is a one-day event with four man heats and sudden death elimination. The competition consists of fifteen heats of high performance surfing, with the event being give a Green Light For Go on the advice of surf forecasting guru Spike from www.wavescape.co.za
Contest organizers are looking for a solid and consistent swell that will provide between 10 and 12 waves every 30 minutes for 8 hours, in order to run the event to completion. It’s a very specific kind of swell, and Spike knows exactly what it looks like on the maps.
Right now we have a blip on the radar, and Spike has given the contest organisers an early heads up for a possible Cell C Goodwave swell for next week Monday 15 May, or possibly Tuesday 16 May. While that swell is still far off and many things could change between now and then, all invited surfers are reminded to be on alert and watch the Cell C Goodwave website and Facebook page for updates.
“Winter is starting to show some muscle with a series of big swells hitting the Cape,” said Spike of the upcoming conditions. “For Durban, two storms form east of the country, both producing some swell. The first arrives Monday and Tuesday 15 and 16th, and the second next Friday 19th. With two days of surf next Monday and Tuesday and offshore winds, we are looking closely at the orginating storm, which at this stage is facing slightly the wrong way for proper 6-8′ surf in Durban. However, it could be clean 4-6′ building Monday and running Tuesday, which looks the best conditions and swell direction.”
The Cell C Goodwave has invited 32 surfers to compete in the event. Should some of these surfers not make it to the New Pier in Durban on the day, their slots will be filled up with the alternate surfers. Should there still be open slots, the contest director will choose walk-up entries.
“We are all very excited to be running this unique event again,” said South African Surfing Legends Executive Advisor Barry Wolins. “There aren’t too many specialty events that take place these days and we have our one at New Pier, one of the finest, barreling beach breaks on the planet.”
• The Cell C Goodwave is a South African Surfing Legends event, with Jason Ribbink the contest director.
• California Dreaming, overlooking New Pier on the beachfront, will host the competition on the day. Oakley and Sun International are both supporting sponsors.
• The four World Surf League Specialty Events for 2017 can be found here http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2017/spec
Invited surfers, in no order:
Brandon Jackson, Matt McGillivray, Dale Staples, Shane Sykes, Mikey February, Josh Redman, Damien Fahrenfort, Dan Redman, Mike Frew, Simon Nicholson, Gavin Roberts, Frankie Oberholzer, Matt Bromley, Davey Weare, Grant Baker, Chris Leppan, Sean Holmes, Ricky Basnett, Jason Ribbink, Beyrick de Vries, Gary van Wieringen, Dylan Lightfoot, Chad du Toit, Brendan O’Connor, Warwick Wright, Noel Rahme, Shane Thorne, Paul Canning, Richard Kidd, Davey van Zyl, Robbie Schofield, Greg Emslie.
Alternate surfers, in no order:
Secret International VIP, Alan Johns, Josh Smit, Jordy Maree, Adin Jeenes, Simon Fish, Joshe Faulkner, Matt Pallet, Stever Sawyer, Dylan Stewart, Lee Bisset, Scott Venter, Billy Payne, Scott Hamilton, Ryan Payne, Sam Christianson, Derek Footit, Ben Dancaster, Bevan Willis, Koby Oberholzer, Antonio Bortoletto, Manfred Adrio, Wes O’Driscoll, Elton Cuthbert, Andrew Lange, Blane Wood, Chris Frolich, Wade Simkiss, Rene Terblanche, Frank Solomon, Mikhael ‘MK’ Vawda, Casey Grant, Andrew Banks.
The Cell C Goodwave – in loving memory of Lee Wolins.
The contest is also sanctioned by Surfing South Africa. It is an invite-only event.
About The World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL), formerly the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), is dedicated to celebrating the world’s best surfing on the world’s best waves through a variety of best-in-class audience platforms. The League, headquartered in Santa Monica, is a truly global sport with regional offices in Australasia, Africa, North America, South America, Hawaii, Japan and Europe.
For more information, please visit www.worldsurfleague.com
About Cell C
Cell C is a leading mobile operator in South Africa offering consumers a wide range of products and services. Offering some of the best value in the market, Cell C prides itself on innovation and value-for-money products and services. Cell C is currently the only mobile operator in South Africa to offer customers Free Facebook and basic Internet services through Facebook’s Free Basics. It is also the only mobile operator in South Africa to offer customers Wi-Fi Calling services commercially. Supported by its highly advanced network covering 98% of the country’s population, Cell C offers 2G, 3G, LTE and LTE-Advanced services. Cell C is also the proud sponsor of the Cell C Sharks and Miss South Africa.
