Local longboarder crowned SA champ

SURF boards are as unique as surfers themselves. The varieties of shapes, styles, materials and designs are endless. Distinctly longer and broader at the nose and tail than a conventional short board, the longboard measures more than eight feet in length, and is considered as the original surfboard.

To make it in the sport, one needs commitment, speed, power, style and a degree of difficulty using a variety of traditional and modern manoeuvres. That’s what it takes to crown a longboard champion.

One Durban North longboarder, Sam Christianson, has all these qualities in abundance.

The 16-year-old was recently crowned the South African U16 longboard champion at the national competition held at Seal Point, Cape St Francis

In addition, the talented longboarder was also awarded the Matthew Hough Memorial Floating Trophy for Most Outstanding Junior Surfer at the tournament (which covers all age groups up to U20).

Incredibly this was Sam’s first national competition. “When I qualified for the SA nationals, my focus was soaking up the atmosphere and having fun. I didn’t think I’d make the finals at all until I progressed through the knock-out rounds.

“I had to wait for two days before the results were announced at the awards ceremony but it was worth the wait. When they called out my name I was just so stoked, I was speechless. It was the best feeling in the world” Sam said.

He added using an eight foot board, longboards allow surfers flow with the wave, rather than battling against it.

“The beauty rests in making hard things look easy, linking turns and footwork gracefully. Walking on the board and performing a hang five (where the surfer goes to the front of the board and rides from there, one foot on the nose and the five toes of that foot extended out over the front of the nose, the other foot placed further back) is the art of cool,” he said