Country's biggest surf ski series takes a step up in
2010
Durban - The worlds biggest surfski series will move into a new era in Durban
next week when the first leg of the popular Varsity College Marine Surfski
Series gets under way at Ushaka Beach on Friday 15 January.
Varsity College is now the title sponsor of this substantially invigorated
ten leg series which now enjoys significant support from several new sponsors
and offers bigger prizes and incentives to the top performers across the
various categories.
The series has proven to be consistently popular since its founding in 1991,
as it sticks to a tried and trusted format, taking place on Friday evenings
from the sheltered base inside the harbour breakwater, and racing in the
manageable conditions inside Durban Bay.
"The Durban evenings in summer are classic for surfski racing, and we stick
to a consistent format of lap races from Ushaka Beach to North Beach and
back," said series director Barry Lewin.
"This makes it really accessible to newcomers to the sport as well as the
relative novices, while still providing a great format for the top racers to
compete," he added. "The surf at Ushaka is not daunting, and we race behind
the backline so there is no risk of damaging craft or taking scary swims."
"Varsity
College is dedicated to delivering on its philosophy of promoting a balanced
student life",
said
Carole Adam, Varsity College Sport & Social Manager. "This is evident in our
ongoing involvement with the two Durban and Cape Town surfski schools and now
our title sponsorships of the Varsity College Marine Surfski Series."
With the consistent growth in popularity of surfski racing, and Durban's
undisputed status as the world's capital of the sport, the Marine series
dovetails neatly with the winter Discovery Men's Health Surf Ski Series,
which starts on a similar safe race format, but then takes in far more
challenging paddling up and down the KwaZulu-Natal coastline.
Many of the novices who have been learning the ropes through the Varsity
College Surfski School that Lewin runs will be confident and competent enough
to take part in the series races.
The Varsity College Marine Series boasts more paddlers taking part over the
duration of the ten race series than any other series in the world, while
individual race entries for a few other major surf ski races top the regular
weekly entry of the Marine series events.
The series has also been boosted by the inclusion of the first ever SA
Schools Surfski Championships, which will be hosted on the final leg of the
series on 9 April.
"I am thrilled that Canoeing South Africa has backed this move and made it a
formal national schools championship," said Lewin. "Paddling is thriving at
school level across the country, and there is a growing interest in surfski
paddling amongst the youngsters."
Lewin has already confirmed interest from eight KwaZulu-Natal schools, five
from the Western Cape and five from the Eastern Cape, eager to send teams of
athletes to the championship event, and encouraging the pupils to take part
in as many of the other series races as part of their preparations.
The registration for the event takes place at Billy the Bums on Thursday 14
January.
Varsity College Marine Surf Ski Series 2010
All races on Friday evenings at 5:30pm
15 January
29 January
5 February
12 February
19 February
26 February
5 March
12 March
19 March
9 April
ENDS
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Varsity College Marine Surf Ski Series Logo |
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Working from the base at Ushaka beach affords
paddlers of all abilities taking part in the Varsity College Marine Surf Ski
Series the chance to enjoy the thrills of surf ski racing in the protected
environment of Durban Bay. |
Anthony Grote/
Gameplan Media |
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Surf ski ace Matt Bouman will start the 2010
Varsity College Marine Surf Ski Series as one of the top contenders for the
title that teenager Grant van der Walt won last year. |
Dave Macleod/
Gameplan Media |
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