As you most probably know by now, last weekend was host to a very special contest that the Capetonian bodyboarding community took strongly to. The contest was the Warrior Challenge and swarms of bodyboarders dawned upon Glen Beach to surf this contest which was in loving memory of our close friend David Lilienfeld.
Although the basis of the contest was of "morbid nature" the prizes at the end of the tunnel were not. The prize money stood at R2500 plus a whole lot of other stuff that would not have fitted in an average sized car. The waves were amazing! Big 6ft ramps separated the boys from the men and as the heats started to go by, the competition veterans were proving themselves. One by one the pack of bodyboarders thinned out as round after round culled the weak and unskilled. My time for judgement came in the semi finals where I got a 3rd place and joined the losers pool.
4 riders remained- Tristan Roberts, who throughout the contest fought bravely against foes who had long been in the realm of contest before him. The boy, only 15, left many a victim crying in shame after unleashing a vast array of massive flips, big inverts and highly technical reverses. Aden Kleve, a dangerous contender from a village called Kommetjie where riding a bodyboard is a way of life. Aden stormed through heats with his careful and calculated riding leaving a wake of destruction as he passed. Charles Pass, took fellow contenders to the cleaners with his venomous arm extended rolls and barrel riding skills and finally Andrew Raath who once ate cheese burgers but now eats bodyboarders!
The finals was intense with massive moves being pulled by Tristan and Charles but with no luck on the landing. Aden snuck in some clean rolls and spins which gave him solid scores, while Andrew was fighting back with one or two flips on the inside. In the end Aden took 1st place, Tristan took 2nd, 3rd went to Charles and 4th was reserved for Andrew.
Although I would have loved to have shared some footage of the final with you, all I have is this invert that my mate, Christiaan Els, got of me in one of my heats while riding my brand new Thiel Board. Check it out...dont hate :)
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