The Day Tand Smiled Her Black-Toothed Grin
written by Pierre Marqua
The remote reef known as Tand, far up the South African coast near the sleepy seaside village of Paternoster, provided the perfect arena. South African Bodyboarding was showcased at its highest level when sixteen of the country’s best bodyboarders were invited to push themselves over the edge, and into history. At the end of the day, Wesley Coetzee from KwaZulu-Natal emerged as the victor, and claimed his R20 000 winners cheque. Alex Nutt, another KZN Local finished in second . IBC contender, Robbie Berman, took third and Hankus Loubser finished fourth.
The first heat of the day went underway around 11 AM, in a growing swell and a dropping tide. It was clear from the first wave ridden that we were in for a historic day. It was a heat that pitted the new school against the old guard. Super Grom and Tand local, Luke Bruton took the win with the Walker Bay Pro junior champ, from George in the Southern Cape, Hugo Naude taking second. Sacha Specker, the 2012 world Drop knee champion and previous Tand winner came third, with Kalk Bay Reef local, Aden Kleve finishing fourth. As per the contest format, the first two riders advanced to the Semi-Finals resulting in the last two riders being knocked out of the competition.
Once the four Opening Rounds of the Tand Invitational were complete, it was onto the Semi-Finals. The first Semi was slow, with the ocean only producing a few mutant waves which detonated over the slab. Robbie Berman took the win, beating Alex Nutt who with a massive backflip on the main bowl earned himself a 9 – the second excellent score of the competition. Luke Bruton and Luke Staniforth were not able to find the waves they needed, and bowed out of the event with their heads held high.
Semi-Final two proved to be the heat of the event. Hankus Loubser moved into beast mode and found waves under priority, earning himself the highest heat total of the event. Three massive tube rides, backed up with a combination of backflips and spins saw Hankus earn a heat total of 17.16 out of 20. Wesley Coetzee finished just behind with 14.17, and the youngsters of the heat Jaco Calitz and Hugo Naude took the backseat.
With that, we moved into the Final Round of the Tand Invitational 2023. Wesley Coetzee and Alex Nutt went head to head with local gents, Hankus Loubser and Robbie Berman. Unfortunately, Hankus’ strategy of patience – of waiting for that elusive mutant wave – was his undoing. Wesley Coetzee managed to find the diamonds in the rough and secured his maiden, the Tand Victory and R20 000. Alex Nutt finished the competition in second place with a cheque of R5000. Robbie Berman achieved his first podium finish in third place, winning R3000, and Hankus rounded off his day of charging with a fourth-place finish and a cheque for R2000.
And that was the Tand Invitational 2023, done and dusted! A huge thanks goes out to all the supporters, media, and fans who made the drive up the West Coast to watch the event live, and a huge thanks further goes out to everyone who tuned in and supported the event’s live stream. A great many thanks go out to the event sponsors who financially backed the event. Thank you to Handpicked Bodyboards for continuously supporting local events in South Africa, all the way from Australia, and not forgetting all the smaller sponsors who played a part in making this dream a reality. Ryan Boon Meats, Smit Steenwerke, Buell Wetsuits, Comfort Cool Air Conditioning, Jackery Power Supplies, Red Bull, Urban Hippy, Whatgoesaround, Paternoster Holiday Rentals, Paternoster Express, Wiara Coffee, Kiff Labs, Marqua Digital Design and Mumbles – all who were part of this remarkable journey.
Click the link below to witness the insane highlights from the Tand Invitational 2023 !