Durban Surf make it official with SA Nippers’ championship win

DURBAN Surf’s Nippers’ monopoly in South African Lifesaving was entrenched with the club’s overall victory at the General Tire National Championships in Port Elizabeth.

The club’s Tatum Botha won the overall title in the U14 girls’ division. Clifton’s Noar Lombard won the U14 boys’ overall title.

Botha, daughter of former national champion and South African international Dylan Botha, was the outstanding individual in all three days of competition.

She won Iron Nipper, the U14 run/swim/run and the U14 board final.

Her champion effort completed a remarkable last few months in which she won two interprovincial surf lifesaving titles and four South African open water lifesaving titles.

Fish Hoek’s Leah Winter was named girls’ U13 overall competitor and East London’s Jordan Fenn took the honours for the boys.

Durban Surf’s Tannah Smith also enjoyed a very successful national championship, and this year the weather played its part to ensure the club were officially crowned champions.

A year ago, also at King’s Beach, inclement weather and dangerous surf prematurely ended the championships.

Durban Surf had started well but not enough category events had been completed to determine an overall club winner.

This time they were able to boast, officially, that the club’s Nipper elite were the best in the country. They racked up a combined 475 points, Fish Hoek were second with 384 points and Umhlanga Rocks took third.

Plett, of the Eastern Cape clubs, placed highest in fourth, with Summerstand seventh and hosts Kings Beach eight.

Umhlanga’s Matthew Coetzer won the boys’ U13 board final, Kira Ribbink defended her national age group U14 flags title and Llandudno’s James Davis Borston claimed three category title victories.

He managed to upstage the favourite Lombard in the U14 board final and also won the flags.