2013 That’s a wrap!

Successful, emotional and rewarding, these are 3 words that sum up my competitive year on the surf scene.

It’s been an emotional roller coaster of up and downs.

In my happy place, thinking back over a great year! 

Successful - being selected to represent SA for the 2^nd time at the ISA World Junior Champs in Nicaragua, finishing 16^th over all, winning all 4 of the Billabong junior series was a dream come true, and then most recently to defend my title and win my last u/16 event of my life in front of my sponsors at the Lizzard Summer Fest earlier this month was cherry on top.

Emotional – taking all the wins with the losses, trying to win and lose  gracefully, “Say nothing when you lose and say even less when you win”, something I try to remember in this sport that is unpredictable at times.

Rewarding – Achieving most of the goals I set out at the end of 2012, getting to travel to destinations like Nicaragua and see their culture and making new friendships.

South African trials – Seal Point – u/16 Girls - 1^st

Billabong Junior Series # 1 New Pier – u/18 Girls - 1^st  , u/20 Girls – 4^th

Billabong Junior Series # 2 – East London – u/18 Girls 1st

Da’kine ISA World Junior Surfing Championships – Nicaragua – u/16 Girls – 16^th

Cool Shoe SA Championships – u/20 Girls 4^th

Billabong Junior Series # 3 – Long Beach – u/18 Girls 1^st , u/20 Girls – 4^th

Billabong Junior Series # 4 – Seal Point – u/18 Girls 1^st

2013 Billabong Junior Series - Series winner u/18 Girls , 3^rd in Series u/20 Girls

Hurley SA Junior Champs – J Bay – 4^th u/17 Girls

SSA Women’s Challenge – Durban – u/16 Girls – 1^st, u/20 Girls – 4^th

Lizzard Summer Surf fest – Umhlanga – u/16 Girls 1^st

Winner u/18 Girls SSA PST

4^th Place u/20 Girls SSA PST

Thanks you to everyone for the support in 2013, especially to my family and my sponsors that make this all possible.

Now to enjoy the summer holidays

Happy Holidays, season’s greetings

Chanelle

xoxo

Spider Surfboards

So at the beginning of November I joined the Spider surf team, so stoked to be apart of another amazing brand, looking forward to building a great relationship with Spider and the team.

Been loving my new board!
Go check out their website and get yourself one : www.safarisurf.com

Last contest of the year this weekend the Lizzard Summer Fest at Umhlanga, I will be looking to defend my title! 

xxx

Lizzy Lovin Life!

This month marks a 9 year long relationship with my main sponsor Lizzy, back in 2004 my mom came to me and said that Lizzy has decided to sponsor me for surfing, this was great news but to a 7 year old that doesn't really mean much but if I look back now, without them deciding to support that little 7 year old foamie queen I would never have achieved all I have in surfing.

Receiving this amazing 2013 summer pack today just made me realize how lucky I really am and how much they have done for me and my surfing.

They have taken care of all my surfing needs from wetsuits, surfboards ,clothing to swimwear and any other accessories you can think of.

The best part about being a lizzy team rider is the fact that Lizzy is a South African brand.

Looking forward to the future with Lizzy and my other amazing sponsors.

The Summer 2013/14 range is amazing, do your self a favour and get to a store and get shopping!

"LOVIN LIFE"

xxx

2013 Hurley SA Junior Champs

Stoked with a good couple of shots from a rad week in J Bay, for the SA Junior Champs, still a little emotional about my result, I was feeling so good all event, my surfing was feeling good, I was dropping the highest scores through out the rounds and opened the final with a 7.25 ( Highest score of the final) and then not to find the small score to take the win is a really tough pill to swallow, you live and you learn I Guess, but a great event in any case!


The photo's are from all different heats, I was in white  the whole event haha weird!?!

Thanks to AVG and Kolesky for the pictures, and Hurley for an amazing event!

Chanelle

xxx

4/4 - The Clean Sweep

So after the 3rd event in the 2013 Billabong Junior Series Presented by BOS, down in Kommetjie where I took my 3rd win of the series, I kind of said to my self if i could win all 4 of the events in the series that would be pretty cool, I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but that was goal when I arrived in Seal Point 2 days before the series final.

Before I even paddled out for my Quarter Final, I had wrapped up the series, so I think that gave me more confidence heading into the event!

The contest was run in really fun 2 - 3 foot classic Seal Point, Our semis were held in onshore conditions, which surprisingly worked out pretty well, with the wave offering more of a lip, and I won my semi, to book myself a spot in my 4th Billabong final in 4 events, one step closer to the 4/4 goal I had set!

The final day the waves were a bit smaller but really clean and glassy, for once I got off to a quick start and opened with a 6.75 to take the lead which I backed up with a few average scores to take out my 4th win, I did it, 4 out of 4, I couldn't believe it, it really was a dream series for me :)

What made it even more special was I was the only surfer in the series to win all 4 events across any division, Not sure if that has been done before? But it felt good to achieve what i had set out to do.

Series Champion in the u/18 girls, and a 3rd place in the u/20 Girls series.

Hard work really does pay off!

From there I headed straight to J Bay for the SA Junior Champs, but that is a whole other blog.

Busy working on a new surf clip, watch this space :)

All the series winners

Thank you speeches

Such an amazing series, Massive thanks to Billabong and BOS for putting it together! 

xxx
Chanelle

Billabong Junior # 3 - Long Beach , Cape Town

This past weekend I was down in the Cape for the 3rd event in the 4 part Billabong Junior series, after a great start to the series taking the win in the u/18 girls division at the Durban and East London event, back in March and April, I was looking forward to getting back into the Lumo Billabong contest vest to give the 3rd event a good go! 

the event was held at Long Beach Kommetjie, the same beach where I won the SA Title back in 2010 so that helped keep my confidence up, knowing I had a lot of pressure me after coming off two wins, and seeing as though I had a really tough round 1 heat.

Photo featured on the Zigzag site, Photo by AVG
http://www.zigzag.co.za/multimedia/long-beach-all-stars-highlights-from-the-billabong-junior-series-cape-town/

 We were staying in a house right on Long Beach, I could walk out house walk down the pebbles and paddle into the line up, I was sharing a house with fellow Durban surfers, Cana Foster ( Fellow Lizzy Team Rider), Teal Hogg, Bevan Willis and Kye Weyer, along with all our Mom's.

The day before the event we had super fun long beach all day , getting used to the break and cold water.

Forehand carve during a heat , Photo: Chappy Pix

Round one was a really tough heat, and I battled to find my rhythm but I was lucky enough to get two mid range waves to advance into the next round in 2nd place.

The semi finals were held in similar conditions but I was stoked to get a quick start and take the heat win , event though I was stuck in the kelp for the last 6 minutes, thankfully the other girls didn't manage to find the scores to advance while I was getting worked in the kelp.

Carving my way into the u/18 and u/20 finals, Photo: Chappy Pix

Sunday morning we had the u/18 girls final, I sat patiently waiting for a good wave, so I was down in fourth for a good while, eventually at the half way point I got my first wave a 5.25 which put me up into 2nd , needing a low score to take the win, with about 3 minutes to go I found myself a 6.0 ride which sent me straight into the lead leaving the rest of the girls looking for quite high scores, when the siren went I was SOOOO stoked to have taken my 3rd win of the series, I couldn't believe it!

Love these big cheques, not so easy to fly with!

 By winning the u/18 final I got slot into the Pro Junior girls division, where I surfed my to the final, this time it didn't go my way and I had settle for 4th place, but a great result to end a rad day!

Morning surf check from our house, right on pebbles :) 

 Thanks to Billabong and BOS for an amazing series so far, It has been so much fun and great experience, already the pressure for the series final is on as people are asking "can she make it 4 out of 4".

After a great series this far I have solid and almost unbeatable series lead, which kind of take the pressure off a little, but I will be heading into Seal Point hoping to finish the series strong.

I'd like to thank .......

New fiends, such a cool group to travel with :)

Chanelle xxx

2013 ISA World Junior Surfing Champs - Nicaragua

On the 1st of June we began our trip to Nicaragua , was  a long 10 hour flight to Sao Paolo , Brazil from there we had a 8 hour flight to Panama then to Managua there after we has a 3 hour drive to Nicaragua .

 After a long trip we finally got to our house , we had really nice accommodation right on the beach where a shared a room with Gina , our team vice captain . After settling in we had the SANZ challenge where unfortunately New Zealand came out on top .

Worlds kicked off with the opening function and the sands of the world ceremony . The competition started the next day , My first heat went well and I advanced through to the next qualifying round , my next heat didn't go as well as I planned, but I had a second chance in the sudden death repo rounds where I surfed 3 more rounds and eventually I was eliminated in equal 16th as the joint highest SA Girl , a whole lot better than my last years result .So I was stoked.

Team South Africa did much better this year and we climbed 3 places to finish 6th over all!

All and all it was a great trip and a great experience and a learning curve for me and my surfing.

All that was left to do then was some shopping in Managua the capital of Nicaragua, and then board our first of 4 long flights, but all worth it, for that amazing experience, thank you to everyone who made worlds 2013 possible and especially to my family and AMAZING SPONSORS!

Morning free surf at Playa Santana

I wasn't home long and I was surfing in the Cool Shoe SA Champs at New Pier, representing SKZN in the u/20 girls division, I had a great run and surfed my way into the u/20 girls final along with Nicole Pallet and Anoush Zakarian who had been just been in Nicaragua with me and Emma Smith who took the win, I never really got the waves in the final and had to settle for 4th but all good I'm still u/16 and it was my first ever Senior SA Champs :)

Busy 2nd half of the year , school and contests but I'm looking forward to it.

xoxo
Chanelle <3

Green and Gold

So last week was a busy but good week, we had a 3 day team training camp, we covered fitness, stretching , the judging criteria as well as surfing loads of heats.

It was really nice for the whole team to come together so we could all get to know each other properly as get to know the coaches, it was great working with Graham Hynes as well as Ant Brodowicz.

The camp was just so important to get us to work as a team which is what we need to do if we want to get onto the podium.

Here is a short clip of the training camp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2mH61zP6fA&feature=youtu.be

 On Saturday evening we had the South African Colours awards evening at Pirates lifesaving club, where we were all awarded our green and gold Protea Colours , It was such an honour to be chosen to represent South Africa for the 2nd year.

We have a really great team this year and we have all put in the hard work so all that left to do is compete our hearts out at the ISA World Juniors, and as Ant drilled into our heads, when we step out of the plane in Nicaragua "We are the best team there".

Gina Smith , Myself and Nicole Pallet

Team South Africa :)

With just over a week until we leave there are a few small things to get done, but the build up to worlds has been an unforgettable journey, thanks to all my sponsors for the support and to everyone who has help me with fundraising, to get to Nicaragua.

Chanelle xxx

NatureZone

I really stoked to be apart of the NatureZone Fitness and Vitamin Rich Water athlete team, alongside some great sportsmen and women.

It is a really great tasting and refreshing drink that doesn't leave that sticky feeling in your mouth, that other energy drinks do.

So I have exactly 1 month till I leave for Nicaragua, time is going by so fast, going to be a busy month of surfing and training.

Will keep you posted

Chanelle xxx

Cape Town hockey tour and the Billabong Junior series event # 2

These past two weeks have been very busy ,but that's the way I like it. On Friday 29th March I flew down to Cape Town with the rest of the Amanzimtoti High School Girls Hockey side to take part in the Cape Sports Festival in Stellenbosch.

In between winning all our games and the tournaments we also had some free time which we spent at Ratanga Junction theme park, riding roller coasters all day, so much fun, we also spent some time at the V&A Water Front .

I arrived home to be absolutely spoilt but my sponsors with a whole new waredrobe, The  2013 Lizzy winter range is sick, everyone should get down to a Lizzy concept store and spoil them selves :)  

Just a day after getting back from hockey tour, I was in the car for the 8 hour drive to East London for the second event in the Billabong junior Series, The contest had to be moved from Nahoon beach to Gonubie because of a sewage spill.

Picture courtesy of Kody McGregor

I had a bit of a rough start to the event getting a 2nd in my round 1 heat, and had the semi finals up a bit later, the semi was a very tough heat, with the situation changing with every wave ridden, thankfully I got a good one near the end of the heat which put me into the lead and a spot in the final.

The final was help on Sunday morning, in small , inconsistent low tide waves,I had 2 short rides before getting my first counting wave which as a 5.25 which put me into the lead, which i backed up with a 7.75 to take my second win of the series and the much needed R 5000 winners cheque, thanks to Billabong, BOS Ice tea and Sony SA for another great event.  I have had a dream start to the series and look forward to the remaining events.

Here is the link for the final day highlights :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQFCBxiKvRI

Picture courtesy of Kody Mcgregor

 I have just got my new board from Hutch,thanks to my brother Zayne for putting my dream catcher design on the bottom deck, board looks and feels great cant wait to ride it :)

With just 7 weeks before we leave for Nicaragua, I need to lift my game and surf and train hard to get the result I want.

Chanelle xx

Fundraising

So its official Surfing South Africa will not be receiving any funding for the 2013 SA Jnr Team, and the cost to travel has been increased to R 35 000, so I really have to get more fundraising going!
Here are two upcoming fundraising concepts, please support and assist where you can :)

or if you would like to make a donation, contact us on chanelle.botha@yahoo.co.za

Chanelle xx

Journey to Worlds 2013 : Fundraising

The SA Junior Surf Team, has not received any funding towards our travel to go represent South Africa, at the 2013 ISA World Junior Champs, and so each of us team members has to raise R 30 000 each in order to fund our travel to compete in Nicaragua, Central America.

I'm lucky to have such supportive sponsors who have assisted me, with cash from my main sponsor Lizzy ,which really got the ball rolling as well as my other sponsors (Von Zipper, Nixon and Hurricane) providing me with product for all sorts of fundraising like raffles,auctions and prizes.

Today Nicole Pallet (fellow SA member) and I went to the traffic lights in my home town and did a donation collection, we had banners kindly made by Viv Annells of  Mike Signs, that were a huge help. Everyone was generous emptying out their wallets and curiously asking all sorts of questions.

We managed to raise R 3015.00 and had a great time running up and down, collecting and interacting with the public.

Banners sponsored my the Annell's Family @ Mike Signs

Nicole and I with a bucket of money, such a rad community!

Any body that is interested in assisting with our fundraising can contact us on (+27)83 647 6066 or send an email to chanelle.botha@yahoo.com :)
Chanelle xx