Big break for future surf stars
Brandon Benjamin, pictured at Long Beach in Kommetjie, is one of three city surfers selected to take part in the Quiksilver Pro Junior in Durban. Brandon Benjamin, pictured at Long Beach in Kommetjie, is one of three city surfers selected to take part in the Quiksilver Pro Junior in Durban.
NATASHA PRINCE
Staff Reporter
THREE young Cape Town surfers are preparing to take to the waves to represent the Western Cape at the Quiksilver Pro Junior later this month.
They are among eight surfers from around South Africa who were selected from Surfing South Africa’s transformation programme, which is called the Future Stars division.
Papi Makinyane, 17, Brandon Benjamin, 16, Benjamin De Castro, 17, and five other youngsters from around the country were selected based on their performances and achievements at other competitions throughout the year.
The Quiksilver Pro Junior competition will be held in Durban.
Surfing SA general manager Robin de Kock said the Future Stars programme was designed to open doors for aspiring young surfers.
“It allows them to show their skills at a major tournament and gives them a chance to make a name for themselves,” he said.
Yesterday, Brandon, who lives in Retreat, said he was looking forward to the trip and had been surfing every day for the past few weeks to prepare himself.
“It will give me a chance to put my name out there,” he said.
Papi and Benjamin both live in Muizenberg.
Papi said he usually felt nervous before competitions but he had been working very hard for this event.
Benjamin said: “I’ve waited so long to take part in this competition. I’m very excited.”
The Future Stars will compete at the Quiksilver Pro Junior and King of the Groms competitions between April 22 and 24 at Durban’s New Pier Beach (Dairy Beach).
Two semi-finals and a final will be held on Friday, April 22.
The Future Stars division will see the young surfers competing against each other in front of the best junior surfers in the country.
They include last year’s winner, Shaun Joubert (Mossel Bay), and Beyrick de Vries of Umhlanga.
They will be competing for a wild card berth into the main event of the Quiksilver Pro Junior.
The King of the Groms will be held at the same time for surfers under 16.
The winner of the under-16 division will be flown to France to compete in the Quiksilver King of the Groms international finals in October.
A total of R75 000 in prize money is to be awarded across various categories in Durban this week.
The five other contenders are Marchal Reans, 16, from Eastern Province, Khayehile Ncgobo, 18, Bright Ntuli, 18, and Thalente Mkhize, 18, from southern KwaZulu-Natal, and Fika Ngubane, 18, from KwaZulu-Natal.