UTHUNGULU Surfriding held their second of three trials for the masters divisions this past Sunday in super clean but small conditions at Alkantstrand Beach in Richards Bay.
There were a few new guys in the water this time competing for a spot in the uThungulu District team for the Citroën SA Surfing Championships which will take place from 2-9 August at the very same venue.
One of them was noticeably Ray Harris in the inaugural 60+ Division.
Ray did very well in his heat against Calla Esterhuysen and Bushy Greeff who are in the Legends (55+) Division, ending up in second place.
This is Ray’s first time surfing in the trials and it is indeed inspiring to see how stoked he is with competing.
The small surf did not deter the competitors at all and some big scores were seen especially in the Grand Masters final (40-45) where Mike Frew took apart some big set waves with a series of high scoring backhand smashes.
Kenneth Hodgson also took a few apart, showing his increasing strength and fitness and is looking good with a first and third place in the Kahunas Division (45-50).
Winning this division surfing down from the Grand Kahunas was Fred le Roux who looked very good in the final, laying hard on the rail with his signature power cutback.
In the Masters Division (35-40) the competition has been turned on its head with Clint Dreyer and York Lawrence making the final.
This has made for a very exciting final trial as they were both eliminated in the first round in the first trial and it has now put everyone in the division back on equal terms with the best two of three trials counting.
Andrew Rowling added an impressive win to his third placing and is looking very good sitting on top of the standings.
The third and final trial takes place on Sunday 28 June where after all the teams will be named during a post competition braai at Freedom Surf.
Full results and standings are available on the uThungulu Surfriding website www.zulusurfriders.co.za.
PHOTO: Michael McCarthy
