Another Jordy makes waves
Maree upsets seeds on way to fifth place in world juniors
JORDY Maree of Cape Town burst onto the international stage by upsetting several of the world’s top 18-and-under surf stars on his way to a fifth place in the WSL World Junior Championships in Australia this week.
One of seven South Africans in the field of 36 male and 18 female junior surfers invited to compete for the coveted junior world title, Maree began his campaign by defeating third-seed Finn McGill of Hawaii in the opening round, before eliminating fifth-seed Jake Marshall of America in round three, posting the event’s highest single-ride score and heat total in the process.
After ousting Marco Mignot of France in his next encounter, the Kalk Bay local eventually met his match in top seed Ethan Ewing in the quarter-finals, with the Australian prevailing and then going on to lift the prestigious title.
Maree, whose stellar junior career includes winning numerous national age-group titles, representing South Africa at both junior and senior level and claiming victory in several Pro Junior contests, will stay in Australia for the next two months to compete in WSL Qualifying Series (QS) events.
He will be joined in his quest for QS ranking points by WSL Africa junior champion Adin Masencamp, of the Strand, who finished equal 13th at the World Junior Champs, Bevan Willis of uMdloti, Shane Sykes of Salt Rock and Jeffreys Bay surfers Dylan Lightfoot and Matt McGillivray. THE World Surf League (WSL), which as International Professional Surfing (IPS) and the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) has crowned professional surfing’s world champions for the past 40 years, was
DAVE MACLEOD
CONSISTENTLY steady rainfall in the Southern Drakensberg has reassured canoeists that the end is in sight for the La Niña drought and boosted entries for the N3TC Drak Challenge next weekend.
Regular heavy rains have left the uMzimkhulu River between Castleburn and Early Mists Farm used for the annual Drak Challenge race running at a very full level, and once social media started spreading the good news, paddlers from around the country have flocked to the well-loved section of the river to enjoy the conditions and prepare for the big race in two weekends time.
The race has been held in low water conditions for the last two years as the La Niña drought kept Southern Africa in its grip, but the current summer rainfall pattern appears to signal an end to the drought cycle, certainly over the Southern Drakensberg region.
“We had been led to believe that this summer would be characterised by heavier than normal rainfall, and that is what we are seeing so far,” said race committee head Andrew Barnett.
“With the river running at a very full level at the moment, and a fair amount of rain forecast for the coming fortnight, it looks promising for an enjoyable race on a clean medium shocked to hear that head honcho Paul Speaker had decided to throw in the towel as chief executive this week.
Speaker, who along with ZoSea Media co-owners Terry Hardy and billionaire Dirk Ziff, bought the ASP five years ago, used his experience in American football and in media organisations such as Time to full river next weekend,” he added.
“We deliberately stage this race in January to take advantage of the best of the summer rains as this race is entirely dependent on rainfall,” said Barnett.
“Finally the weather patterns are starting to look more ‘normal’. It has been a very tough year for local farmers and paddlers alike,” he said.
Timeous rain ensured that the recent KZN Mixed Doubles Champs and the one-day FastDrak races were both held on excellent medium river levels.
Since then there have been several heavy downpours in the catchment area, sending the levels of the uMzimkhulu River soaring to very full levels, and the paddling community has been quick to take note. Studios and RKO Studios to transform competitive surfing.
On Speaker’s watch the WSL increased the fan base for pro surfing tenfold through free, live webcasts, digital media platforms and cutting-edge event production. The league also bought the Big Wave Tour, the annual Big Wave Awards, the Triple Crown of Surfing
The heavy rainfall has ensured the water table is saturated and regular afternoon thunderstorms lead to a stabilising “topping-up” effect on the uMzimkhulu River.
After two tough seasons during which paddlers have had to deal with significantly less water than usual on most races, and even the cancellation of some races, the steady rainfall since the start of the New Year appears to have allowed paddlers to rediscover their joy of paddling.
Normal entries for the N3TC Drak Challenge closed on Wednesday but late entries will be taken online for a week.
The N3TC Drak Challenge takes place in the Southern Drakensberg on January 21 and 22. More information can be found at www.drak.co.za and the Kelly Slater Wave Company, among other assets, which has put pro surfing on a fast upward trajectory.
Citing his wishes to step aside to allow new blood to take the sport forward and to spend more time with his family, Speaker will remain a partner in ZoSea and a special adviser to the league.
LTHIS year is shaping up as a momentous one for the country’s top surfers with a host of new events offering WSL ranking points and prize money for men, women and juniors.
Anchored by the newly named Corona Open J-Bay, a Championship Tour (CT) event that will again bring the AST week former South African Olympic cyclist Cherise Stander called for a lifetime ban from races for all cycling dopers and likened them to “common street criminals”. Not surprisingly, her column, which appeared on bicycling.co.za, enjoyed overwhelming support and she was lauded for her tough stance against sports doping and dopers.
My initial reaction was that she was right and I agreed 100% with most of the sentiments. But then I wondered about two current doping issues.
One is international and receiving massive media coverage and the other is local, but both highlight that not all dopers are syringe-toting cheats. It is simply not always a clearlydefined black-and-white issue. With these cases in mind, the introduction of a blanket ban may not be as simple as the clarion call of “let’s just ban for all dopers for life”.
In a high-profile, dragged-out case in the UK (that has gone all the way to a parliamentary hearing) one of the world’s top cycling teams is embroiled in a tough fight for their credibility due to a mysterious package that was delivered to Team Sky on the final day of the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2011. We have now been told the package contained a legal decongestant drug called fluimucil which was administered to Sir Bradley Wiggins via inhaler.
The Team Sky riders won that Dauphiné and a couple of weeks later took his first Tour de France title (also the first for his team which has since won the Tour once more with Wiggins and three more times with Chris Froome). Team Sky have very publicly claimed to follow a strict notolerance doping policy. world’s top 36 surfers to Jeffreys Bay, and the QS10 000 Ballito Pro, both of which are in July, this year’s schedule sees two new events in Durban and one in East London joining those in Cape Town and Lamberts Bay in the first half of the year.
Another two events are being negotiated.
The team management were initially evasive about the package, but now seem to be happy to reveal the details. It was their initial reaction that raised red flags for both supporters and critics.
The Team Sky haters are obviously and predictably saying this is a clear indication of a full-on doping programme in Team Sky. The Team Sky fan boys are obviously and predictably saying it was nothing more than a legal drug that was delivered because Wiggins and the team did not want to risk buying it over the counter in France (it is freely available in French pharmacies).
What is the truth? I doubt we will ever know with certainty.
And locally, Tyrone White, a young, up-and-coming mountain biking star has tested positive for banned substances in what he claims are bizarre, but plausible, circumstances and, if his claims are true, it is hard not to feel sorry for him.
White announced he had been found guilty by Saids on his Facebook page the same day CSA released the news on their site.
White’s claim is that at the JoBerg2C he took the illegal substances (Glucocorticoid and Dexamethasone) “due to an error or miscommunication after unknowingly and unintentionally being administered the incorrect anti-nausea medication at the official race medical shed. I sought medical treatment for severe dehydration after sustaining food poisoning on the last evening of the race.”
He currently has an 18-month sentence handed out by Saids, which in itself indicates there must have been some sympathy from the South Africa anti-doping body as they could have handed out a four-year ban.
I personally abhor the idea that dopers can get away with cheating, however, in both cases I tend to lean toward innocence and sympathy.
I am not 100% convinced in the Team Sky case, but in the absence of anything concrete to prove their guilt I give them the benefit of my doubt.
And from my limited interaction with Tyrone White and his father (a cycling coach) Tyrone is probably one of the last riders I would believe knowingly took performance enhancing drugs.
He has never denied the presence of illegal substances and I can understand how the scenario could unfold at an event that is deliberately run with a somewhat laid-back atmosphere – which is great for 95% of the field 99% of the time, but not so great if that attitude has spilled over into the medical tent.
So, in light of the above, can we say, as Cherise did, that “a doper is the same as a common street criminal (who) steals from other athletes” and “gives our special sport a bad name”?
Yes, I think we can and should, but we must remember, it is not always that simple to know who is a doper!
As an aside, it is ironic the JoBerg2C has unwittingly been instrumental in creating a doping violation. They have (rightly, I believe) been very vocal about instituting a lifetime ban for riders who have ever been “convicted” of a doping offence .
Now (and I am presuming White is telling the truth), they are faced with a conundrum. As a race, how does the White case fit in with their very tough stance on doping – and will they accept his entry in the future?