Jordy Smith to compete in South African Longboard Champs
Following his withdrawal from the Olympics due to a knee injury, Jordy Smith returns to competition at the South African Longboard Championships in Jeffreys Bay.
In May this year, Smith sustained a knee injury while surfing at his home break of New Pier, Durban.
Ranked number 3 on the World Championship tour at the time, Smith was forced to make the tough decision to withdraw from the Olympics and subsequently the World Tour event in Mexico.
Now, four months later, Smith’s recovery is complete; “I’m extremely happy with how the surgery went and the journey to recovery has been amazing.” The South African Longboarding Championships will serve as the ideal platform for his return to competition since his knee injury.
“For the past months I’ve spent 6 to 7 hours every day on rehabilitation, and I thought surfing the longboard championships on a bigger board at the Point would be a great opportunity to get my groove back. The competitor in me is itching to compete!”
Smith is not completely new to the world of longboarding, having competed in the 2006 South African Longboarding Championships where he went on to win a Junior Longboarding title.
Since his win, the criteria in longboard surfing has changed considerably to reflect a revival in traditional-style longboarding.
“There’s been a clear transition to more traditional longboarding, which is not my expertise. But for me it’s more about getting back in the water and being a part of the event.”
Jordy will be filling a gap in the Eden Soul Surfers team, the same team which his father will be surfing for. “I think it will be really special to surf an event with my dad and maybe I can try to coach him and give back some of the medicine that he’s given me.”
The longboarding community has welcomed Smith’s entry into the competition. “We are happy that Jordy has chosen the SA Longboard Championships to make his comeback and hope that this will be a good opportunity for him to get back on the horse,” said Surfing South Africa’s Longboard representative, Paul O’Connell.
The South African Longboard Championships, sanctioned by Surfing South Africa, presented by RYD Brand and supported by Kouga Municipality will take place from the 24th – 29th of August 2021 at Point, Jeffreys Bay.