Surfers in peaceful protest against being excluded from exercise rules
● Surfers in peaceful protest against being excluded from exercise rules
Two Summerstrand surfers took to the beach yesterday, joining their peers in other coastal cities to protest against the decision to exclude surfers from the easing of the lockdown regulations on exercise.
The pair, Andre Venter and Chris Taljaardt, have questioned the logic of the decision, pointing out that social distancing comes naturally to surfers, who prefer to keep a safe distance from each other anyway.
They were the only two surfers to arrive at the Hobie Beach pier yesterday to participate in the #BackInTheWater protest over the ban on watersports during the lockdown.
They did not chance arrest by entering the water — Venter, 60, merely jogged with his board, while Taljaard, 58, walked with his.
At one point, a metro police official asked Venter what he was doing at the beach and warned him not to venture into the water, but they parted amicably after doing the safetyfirst “elbow bump” greeting.
The surfers believe if cyclists, runners and walkers can pound the streets under the new lockdown level four regulations, they should be able to go out onto the waves.
Venter, who has been surfing for 40 years, said he wanted to make a statement and pleaded with the government to be lenient on surfers.
“All watersports are now closed, and we are not asking them to open up the beaches but to just merely allow us to walk across the rocks to reach the surf,” he said.
He said with the winter season approaching and temperatures getting colder, there would be fewer people on the beaches — ideal conditions for surfing.
“There’s no real risk of crowding, we also stick to the rules and keep a safe distance,” Venter said.
“Even when surfing, there is a huge distance between the surfers — we can be almost a kilometre apart so we won’t be spreading the germs.”
Venter said watersports provided alternative exercise options for people who did not run or cycle.
He said he believed that a 63-year-old surfer who was arrested on Sunday after taking to the sea in Summerstrand may have ruined their chances of being heard by the authorities. “I did not really agree with him going out there because it may have spoilt it for everyone and the government will say we are all not disciplined and not listening to the rules, and that puts a little black mark against us.
“Let us rather just wait and raise awareness like we are doing but not go into the water,” Venter said.
Taljaardt, who has also been surfing for most of his adult life, said he believed the ban was unfair considering that watersports did not encourage crowds.
He said it was far easier for surfers to keep a safe distance than people walking or jogging on the beachfront.
“The police and SANDF were deployed out there to control crowds and to educate and help people, not to harass people for trying to surf,” Taljaardt said.
Taljaardt said the weekend arrest of the surfer was ridiculous because the country had far bigger problems to solve.
“I do not know what impact we will have but I suppose this is better than doing nothing.
“We do not know how long the lockdown will take but we hope someone will hear us and consider opening up the surf,” he said.