'Fergie' takes surfing by storm

For seven years Heather Clark of Port Shepstone kept the South African flag flying on the Association of Surfing Professionals Women's World Championship Tour (WCT).

Admired by her peers and entertained by everyone who met her, the small town girl from "Sheppies" made the world surfing stage her own.

She is without doubt South Africa's most successful women surfer and although she never became World Champion during her time on the WCT, she did win the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which is probably the next best thing.

Despite receiving support from only a handful of sponsors - Red Bull, Lizzard and support from the Lotto - Fergie, as she is known, gave her all as a member of the WCT and when she slipped out of the top 16 at the end of last year the ASP tour lost one of its icons.

The fact that she is no longer "tour tied" is great news for South Africa however as it means that she will now be able to compete on the local Surfing SA Pro Surf Tour and she wasted no time in making her return by winning the open division of the final Billabong "Girls Get Out There" Surf Series event that was completed in windy 3-foot conditions at Tableview on Sunday.

Clark beat Sarah Maritz of Warner Beach who was the winner of the first event in Durban last September while local star Stacey Guy of Melkbosstrand and 2006 SA Team member Tammy-Lee Smith of Salt Rock in KZN were third and fourth respectively.

Winning the event put R5 000 in Clark's bank account and secured her 1 000 ratings points on the 2007 SSA Pro Surf Tour (PST) rankings.

The winner was a little nervous going into the contest as an unseeded entry but she soon found her form posting a perfect 10-point ride and an 8.67 to win her quarter-final on the final day of competition.

"It was nerve-racking as I didn't know what to expect from the local girls," confessed Clark, "But it was a great event, great crowds and well run, and it was good to see so many girls out there with so much talent."

Smith, who will spend much of the year competing on the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS), won the Pro Junior title beating national junior team members Chantelle Rautenbach of Melkbosstrand and Nikita Robb of East London into second and third place.

The remarkable talent of Bianca Buitendag, 13, from Victoria Bay saw her finish fourth in the final of the Pro Junior which is a competitive division featuring surfers as old as 20.

2005 SA Junior team member Alice McGregor of East London celebrated her birthday by adding the Tableview title to her wins in the U-15 divisions in the Billlabong events in Durban and Margate last year. New SA Junior Team cap Tanika Hoffman of Kommetjie was second with Morag Steele of Somerset West third.

Sabrina Scott of Glencairn, who started her contest career 14 months ago with a win in the Academy Cup at the Strand, was fourth in the final, her first result in a national event.

Scott was a deserved winner of the Most Improved Local Surfer award while Tammy Lee Smith won the Best Kustomised Manoeuvre award in the Expression Session.

According to Life's a Beach communications, the Billabong Girls Get Out There weekend saw hundreds of girls enjoying activities that ranged from free learn-to-surf lessons and Yoga sessions to adding their input to ocean-themed canvases set up on the beach.

They were able to enjoy a music concert with recording artists Arde and One80 on Saturday afternoon and attend talks by WWF Sanlam Marine Programme conservationists on the plight of albatrosses and on the shark spotting programme in the Cape Peninsula.

Maritz, Smith and McGregor were honoured as the GGOT Surf Series champions in the Open, Pro Junior and U-15 divisions respectively at the awards ceremony and girls all over the country will be looking forward to the next series in September this year.