Whatshot
Mercedes - Benz SA Surfing Championship in Buffalo City
Mercedes - Benz SA Surfing Championship in Buffalo City
The Old Selbornians Club played host to the opening function of the 52nd South African Surfing Championships recently with headline sponsors Mercedes - Benz South Africa and Official Hosts, Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in attendance alongside the teams and Surfing South Africa Board Members.
General Manager of Surfing South Africa (SSA), Robin De Kock, paid tribute to the vision of former Mercedes - Benz South Africa CEO Arno Van Der Merwe in making this sponsorship a possibility.
Feliciano Janneker, Corporate Affairs Manager at Mercedes - Benz South Africa (MBSA) spoke to the importance of their great relationship with Buffalo City Metropolitan (BCMM) and the need to ensure they continue to aid development in the region.
Sport Manager for BCMM, Manelisi Lwana explained how it took a lot of work, but that they were thrilled to be able to partner with MBSA and SSA on this initiative as the official host and help further develop the city through the ocean economy.
The surfing kicked off at 08:00 sharp Tuesday morning with the Men's Open Division in some tricky conditions, with the wind pushing hard around the corner at Nahoon Reef.
In other parts of the world, namely Teahupo'o in Tahiti, Julian Wilson claimed victory at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, Stop No. 7 of 11 on the 2017 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), after defeating Gabriel Medina in the Final. A full day of competition witnessed intense action from the remaining competitors as they battled through 15 heats in six-to-seven foot surf.
Today's win marks Wilson's third CT victory and best result at the Billabong Pro Tahiti. The Australian is always a serious WSL Title contender and his first place finish moves him up from 8th to 5th place on the Jeep Leaderboard heading into the Hurley Pro at Trestles.