Hey Guys and Girls.
Well what a day Saturday was for the 2013 SAKSA State Wave Titles. This year was probably the toughest competition to date to run, due to the extreme conditions. If you didn?t make it this is a quick overview?
The temperature for most of the day hovered between 8 and 9 degrees, the surf was a solid 4 to 6 foot plus on the sets, the wind was a constant 8 to 40 knots with a direction of dead onshore to cross off and between the sunshine we had torrential down pours and hail. Thankfully for all those involved, Danny James drove a semi trailer down. So it wasn?t long before people soon realised that it was the warmest and driest place to be. The trailer on that truck was worth its weight in gold and I must say a massive thank you to Danny James and Murphy?s Transport for the use of their truck and trailer. Once the competition started, it was soon realised that the wind was nowhere near as consistent as expected. We managed to run the Amateurs heats and one round of the Legends before the comp was put on hold. With the time running out fast to fit all the heats in and the conditions being so unpredictable. The decision was made to run a 2 hour expression-session for the remaining divisions. After a quick briefing, everyone hit the water for an awesome session, with the judges agreeing at the end that enough waves had been caught to announce winners in all divisions. With the comp completed and everyone packing up in record time, due to the near arctic conditions, everyone made their way back to the truck for a well earned BBQ and beverage.
SAKSA and I would like to say a massive thankyou to everyone who helped out and made this event possible. Firstly the judges and spotters, these guys have the toughest job of all, Danny, Doolz, Toby, Kyla and Richard. The beach crew Matt, Troy, Brant, Easto and Guy for all the launching, landing and running down the beach helping everyone out. The organisation team of Rhys H, Jordan, Evan, Bart, Daz, Rhys G and Terry. The Alexandrina Council and Onkaparinga Council for the permits to run this comp. To anyone I have missed, thank you for your time and help.
It was great to see so many kiters get involved and help out this year. It made things so much easier for not only myself but also other event organisers. I feel so lucky to be involved in such a great community, so thank you to everyone again from me. Also, a big heads up to Jacqui and Easto, who once again supported this event and did the massive 8hr drive from Pt Lincoln to participate. Hopefully we will have a few more women in the waves to compete with next year, Jac.
Massive props to our sponsors Onboard, Stance, FSR Industries, Xtreme Kite & Paddle and Boarding HQ.
Finally I would personally like to thank every competitor and spectator who came down to support this event. Without you these events would not be possible. Well done!
Cheers.
Shaun Crocker
SAKSA President
