Junior Surfers Throw the Gauntlet Down at the Roxy Wahine Cup presented by Virgin Mobile in association with Resolution

(Suncoast Beach, Durban, South Africa) - Teenage surfers Sarah Baum (Warner Beach), Heidi Palmboom (Bluff) and twins Alice and Laurie McGregor (East London) all won their heats today as they surfed their way through to the quarter finals of the premier Open Division of the Roxy Wahine Cup at Durban's Suncoast Beach. With just 16 surfers remaining in contention for the most coveted title in South African women's surfing, the youngsters now find themselves joining fellow juniors Bianca Buitendag (George) and Tanika Hoffman (Kommetjie) as they attempt to wrest the 2009 title from some of South Africa's most respected competitive surfers.

Warner Beach surfer Baum (15), the youngest surfer contesting the Open Division, is looking like a strong challenger despite her young age. Baum has had a long history with the Roxy Wahine Cup, competing in her first event at the tender age of 8. Since then the talented natural footer has stamped her mark on the contest, having won several age group divisions over the years, and placed second in the Open division the past two years, firstly behind Heather Clark (Port Shepstone) in 2007 at the age of 13, and again behind Tarryn Chudleigh (Kommetjie) last year. This year Baum has emerged looking more focussed and motivated than ever, and will be going all out to improve on her previous two runner-up finishes.

"The conditions were very difficult during my heat, and it was not easy to pick the right wave," said Baum after her heat. "Luckily I was able to find a few good ones and made it through to the quarters. To win the Open division of the Roxy Wahine Cup would mean the world to me. It's been my dream since I first surfed the contest when I was 8 years old, so I'm praying I can pull it together tomorrow and will give it my best shot."

Baum won't have it all her own way though, and Buitendag, the McGregors, Palmboom and defending champion Chudleigh will all be determined to take home the R10,000 first place cheque. Other surfers still in the running include Tammy-Lee Smith (Ballito) and Melkbosstrand surfers Stacey Guy and Chantelle Rautenbach, all three of who have a wealth of experience and will also be strong contenders for the title.

The stand-out performance of the day came from yet another junior, George's Bianca Buitendag (16), who scored two near perfect 9 point rides on her way to the quarter-finals of the U20 division. Despite being one of the youngest girls in the division, Buitendag showed her class and talent and was awarded the two near perfect scores by the judges.

"At Suncoast Beach it's all about quality wave selection, especially in the shorebreak," said Buitendag after leaving the water. "You just have to read the waves well and do what they allow you to. The Roxy Wahine Cup is an amazing event, and I think it would mean a lot to anyone who won it, but there's a lot of money up for grabs so I'm going to do all I can to grab as much of it as I can (laughs)."

The morning started out with tricky conditions for the competitors in South Africa's premier, stand alone, female surfing contest, with an onshore wind and small swell combining to deliver lumpy two to three foot waves at Suncoast Beach. But as the day progressed the wind backed off and the surf cleaned up, allowing the girls the freedom to express themselves and secure some high scores.

As often happens in challenging surf, today saw several upsets with two of the favourites bowing out early. The first upset was the shock elimination of Tasha Mentasti (Durban), one of the stalwarts of South African surfing, who was knocked out of contention by National Junior Surfing Team member Heidi Palmboom and New Pier local Amber Kilfoil. The second shock came in the U20 division when Kommetjie local and National Junior Team member Tanika Hoffman was knocked out of contention by Tahra Uren and giant-killer Palmboom again after a difficult heat in the trying conditions. Hoffman is still in contention for the Open title and will take on Tammy-Lee Smith, Holly Armstrong (Cape Town) and Palmboom in the quarter finals tomorrow.

Surfing action starts bright and early on Sunday morning, with the Open quarter finals taking to the water at 7.30am. Sunday afternoon will see the crowning of the 2009 Roxy Wahine Cup champions in the novice, U14, U16, U20 and Open divisions at around 2.00pm. The Roxy Wahine Cup is one of the most prestigious and sought-after titles in South African surfing, and has attracted a host of South Africa's top female surfers who will be vying for their share of the R22,500 in prize money.

Roxy has played a major role in the development of women's surfing in South Africa, focussing on getting girls off the beach and into the water, and two of the initiatives of the Roxy Wahine Cup are focussed primarily on this. The first is the Roxy Learn to Surf program which will be run on Sunday from 09.00am to 11.00am, and 11.30am to 1.30pm with professional surfing coach Alan Wallace. Bookings can be made by calling Wallace on 076 877 5143.

The Roxy Wahine Cup is a Surfing South Africa sanctioned event. Surfing South Africa is the governing body for the sport and is affiliated to the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee and the International Surfing association.

Roxy would like to thank the following sponsors for facilitating the organization of this event: Virgin Mobile, Resolution, Durban City, SuperSport, Suncoast Entertainment World, Saltwater Girl Magazine, Red Bull, Nivea and Clean & Clear. During the Roxy Wahine Cup, Saltwater Girl’s website will host a gallery of lifestyle and action images as well as a blog on the event www.swg.co.za.

All the relevant information on the Roxy Wahine Cup 2009 can be found at www.roxy.co.za/wahinecup, while the schedule and heats are available online at www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

Open Quarter Final Match-Ups:

Heat 1:

Chantelle Rautenbach 

Kirsty Delport

Sarah Baum

Kerri Hodgkinson

Heat 2:

Stacey Guy

Bianca Buitendag

Laurie McGregor

Nicole Annells

Heat 3:

Tammy-Lee Smith

Tanika Hoffman

Heidi Palmboom

Holly Armstrong

Heat 4:

Tarryn Chudleaigh

Michelle Imeson

Alice McGregor

Amber Kilfoil