Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Steve Pike
IT was a proud moment in the history of South African surfing, and a moment of national pride looking into the future.
A young man from Steenberg in Cape Town called Brandon Benjamin stood on the podium at the Mercedes-Benz South African Surfing Championships in East London this week holding the national trophy aloft.
The moment was thick with emotion and irony. After 52 years, Benjamin had become the first person of colour – and one of the youngest – to win a national surfing title in South Africa. Beside the 20-year-old stood his coach and mentor, Greg Emslie.
Benjamin had just defeated the 40-year-old in the Men’s Open final to mark an historic changing of the guard.
Emslie, the former professional surfer and multiple title holder, had been shredding the big surf at his local spots at Nahoon, storming into the final as the favourite. Benjamin on the other hand, had to scrap in the first few heats to make it through, but as the event drew on, he gained confidence and momentum.
The way he surfed in the final was pure class. He surfed with assurance and skill, prompting someone to remark on social media that the standard was that of a professional heat at a World Surf League event.
The young buck took down the old bull, and now, according to surfing administrator Robin de Kock, Benjamin will be invited to the high performance squad that is gearing up for the 2020 Olympics. That’s at a minimum. There’s a good chance – pending the hierarchy of WSLranked surfers in South Africa – he will be selected to the six person-team for the national side at the ISA World Surfing Games next year.
His victory is poignant on many levels. There have been many talented black surfers who have done incredibly well in surfing, but none have achieved what Benjamin did on Sunday.
The talented Cass Collier, who warmly congratulated Benjamin on Facebook, surfed at the SA Champs for Western Province a few times in his younger days. His iconic victory at the Big Wave World Champs in Todos Santas in 1999 was a pivotal, though separate, moment in SA surfing.
Joch Salie, another gifted Cape Town surfer, has come close. So has Tanika Hoffman in the women’s. We know how brilliantly the mercurial Mikey February is doing on the WSL QS. He is ranked #2 in the world right now. This year, the Eastern Cape’s Avuyile ‘Avo’ Ndamase came 7th in the contest after making the semi-finals. KZN’s Sam Cele