Surfers raise thousands for Hospice
The third Ross Taylor Surf Contest was an wonderful success. This surfing contest aims to raise funds for the local Hospice in memory of the late Ross Taylor, who lost his life to cancer in 2010. It was held at Buffel’s Bay on August 6 and 7.
Despite the rainy weather on Friday, August 5 the organisers of the event remained hopeful in anticipation of the event. About 215 participants competed against one another in the various competitions, and the event also included a sand castle competition, a beach walk from Brenton to Buffel’s Bay and, the latest addition to the contest, the stand-up paddlers’ (SUP) race.
“Wow, what an amazing weekend, and once again Ross was looking after us,” said Brett Staegemann, one of the organisers of the surf contest.
Participants and loyal supporters also enjoyed a fun-filled time at the Benefit Bash at the River Deck. The evening included a short auction, and Andrew Hare outdid himself, raising nearly R10 000 in about 20 minutes. A total of R70 000 was raised for Hospice.
“Hundreds of people came and supported the contest and watched some great surfing. We had some really good surfers from all over the country, and some really amazing prizes to be won,” said Staegemann.
The final heats were completed on Sunday, August 7 at 15:30.
“Ross wanted us to have fun and raise money for Hospice. This was only made possible with the fantastic support from everyone involved. A huge thank you to the very dedicated team working on this amazing weekend. We have raised far more than we all expected. Not bad for a weekend at the beach. To all our prize sponsors, and everyone that helped in any way, you guys made it happen,” said Staegemann. A huge thank you also go to all the judges who judged 29 hours of surfing in 18 hours of sunlight, sometimes with three heats running at the same time on three different breaks.
In conclusion Staegemann said, “Thanks Ross for being the beautiful person that you were, and a huge appreciation to Hospice for doing the work that you so selflessly do.”
The raffle winners were Allan Johns (Firewire surfboard), Paul Micklewood (Billabong wetsuit), and Guy Thesen (Billabong watch).
The winning surfers were:
Juniors – Ben Jacobsen.
Open – Charles Reitz.
U/15 boys – Tristan Levben.
SUP – Justin Bing.
Retro – Carlos Sandofski.
Girls development – Amy Salter.
Longboard open – Justin Bing.
Beggars – Lindon Booth.
Boys development – Brandon Snyders.
Longboard ballie – Stephen Hair.
Shortboard girls – Faye Zoetmulder.
Highest scoring wave – Justin Bing.
Ballie – Stephen Hair.
Ladies – Taryn Kite.
Pelican – Clifford Toop.
Photo: Elle Photography
Source: The Knysna-Plett Herald