Winner 2011 Billabong ASP World Junior Surfing Championship, Narrabeen Australia

here are some photo’s of the girls ripping on day two of the contest, held at Burleigh Heads, Australia

I’m hoooommmeeee! ………….. no better welcoming back than Blessing serving you a hot cup of Milo at Mugg & Bean. ….

My stoke of being home probably helped me win the Pro Junior division at the Roxy Wahine Cup, held at the famous New Pier beach in Durban.

We were blessed with awesome waves, a really cool setup and good prize money at the Roxy. Thank you Roxy and Management for spoiling us and especially Tamara for all your hard work.

Although 5 weeks seemed like a long time when I departed from George, time flew and I found myself landing back where I started in what seemed like a blink of an eye. What do they say? Time fly’s when you’re having fun.

Now back to my schoolbooks…..got to catch up before our “all girls “ boat trip to the Mentawi islands….can’t wait!

Greetings

Bianca

The first time I went to France (2007) I fell in love. Since 2007 I have probably been there 10 times. To me France is a lot like home( in the smaller things). The country has lots of culture and history, just like home (although the culture and history are probably direct opposites). So to me, going to France was a pleasure.

And have you seen the new Quiksilver house? (more of a mansion) - it even deserves its own paragraph! It has three buildings, one of which has three stories and 60 beds, a cafeteria, library, computers, free internet, dvd room, games room, beach soccer field, two high performance trampolines, 20 bicycles, the list goes ooonnnn…

Cant help getting side-tracked by the awesome lifestyle that surfing brings. Where was I? surfing and contests.. the biggest women’s only event was on – the Swatch Pro. Wow. What an event – free food, free smoothies, free NUTELLA, and even a sawdust toilet. As you can see I get very excited about free things, mainly because budgeting is one of the many things you learn while travelling.

It was awesome to see the girls ripping it up like that, and sponsors supporting such an awesome event. I got a 3rd in the pro junior. A bit of an upset after Peru, but it’s the experience that counts.

Our next stop was Portugal. We had to drive from France, through Spain, to Portugal. We were welcomed with knee-high waves (if you can even call them that) and an onshore that “skriks vir niks”. The comp didn’t go too well, but had a good time with all the Roxy crew (from Japan to Italy). Oh! Did I mention the “eat-as-much-as-you-can sushi”! – need I say more..

Headed back to France for a couple days before flying home. Went cruising through the little streets of Hossegor with a bag of cherries hanging from the handlebar of my bicycle, iPod in my pocket, heading to the beach to have an afternoon nap on the sand.

Thank you Roxy and all the team Management for all the good memories of the time in France, for the great facilities and support, I really appreciate it.

Although I am blessed, I am equally grateful.

Thank You.

Warm regards

Bianca

Ever since my first ISA event at age 14, making the final of the ISA Quiksilver World jr Champs was a dream. Standing on that podium and waving your national flag above your head. And this event was my last chance to make that dream come true.

Falling into the repo charge event in round three wasn’t a very good idea. But it happens. It meant surfing 8 heats instead of 4 to get to the final, and the final was where I was aiming. According to my matric mathematical knowledge (haha) I had double the risk of getting knocked out of the competetion. See finishing school does help. Anyways, I had an average of 3 heats per day and the final day was coming closer with every heat.

I couldn’t sleep. I woke up 3 times before my alarm even went off (which NEVER happens) and my heart was beating through my chest.

After scoffing down my usual banana and cheese roll I hopped into a “tuc tuc” (a rocket red 3-wheeler with a picture of Mary hanging from the radio) and headed down to “Cabalerros”. Thanks to the South African coaches, my very motivated mother, and “genade van bo” (LOTS of that) I made 3 heats and was walking to get my rash vest for the fiiiiinnnaaaallssss! It all went well and I ended up in second place, a result I am very happy with.

As I experienced at Narrabeen earlier this year – don’t underestimate God. He’ll surprise you.

See ya,

Bianca.

NORTH NARRABEEN, New South Wales/Australia (Tuesday, January 11, 2020) – South
African dark-horse Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), 17, won the Billabong ASP Women’s World Junior Championships today in a hard-fought final over French talent Justine Dupont (FRA), 19, in two-to-four foot (1 metre) waves at North Narrabeen while Alizee Arnaud (FRA), 20, clinched the overall ASP Women’s World Junior Title with her equal 3rd place result in the event.

(more…)

WORLD JUNIOR COMPETITION IN KERAMAS

“Our hotel”

Our Hotel is at the end of the alley, frogs in the pool, sick cats on our doorstep, a smoky smell in the room and a shower that has its own whistling tune, ..this is our three star spot. It is located at the local harbour, at a place called Sanur…and apparently also in the red light district…BUT we ZAFFAS are rough and tough. At least the staff is extremely friendly, a taxi cost you R10 home. all cheap places have their benefits. This was all necessary to be close to the main contest site, Keramas.. only to find out the next day, they’re running it at Canggu, one and a half hour away.

“Bali belly”

I get the notorious “Bali belly”……I am flat in bed on my second day in Bali…need to compete tomorrow…. The hotel doctor gets called out…we need immediate measures…this belly must surf first heat tomorrow morning…100 US$ later for his visit…a total rip off, I am on antibiotics etc. etc. and fast asleep. The Balinese woman believes rice porridge is the answer to everything.…Minette says drink lots of guava juice…the hotel staff says that “ we not haph”, just to find out later that I should have asked for “guappa juice”.

“Canggu…”

We move without any accommodation booked, we got an email that the contest will be surfed in Canggu from Saturday to Sunday….we rent scooters and explore, surf, eat and try to cool off  in any possible way…..it feels like a heat wave every day.

The “Ceremony”

The ceremony is part of the opening function, which consists out of a dinner in Sanur as well as a “blessing ceremony” on the beach at Canggu, the morning before the first heat. We get ceremonial dress and everything is very beautiful.  However I feel uncomfortable “praying” to some unknown god of the islands….so I just close my eyes and prayed to our God…and added ” please forgive me if I am not suppose to do this…” I look at all the brown tanned smiley faces and realized: these surfers are the top 48 junior boys and 18 junior girl surfers in the world….you will hear these names again ….there will be world champions crowned from this group…we are going to see the best junior surfing in the world in this coming week….

“Cooking waves”

These are the waves on sandbanks and reefs of Canggu…I’ve been here before but never realized it has such potential….and what a vibe…Oakley has put on a amazing effort and show for junior surfing…the best I’ve seen…well done to the Oakley crew…very professional.

I realize that for surfers the measurement of the success of a surfing contest is the quality of the
waves surfed….and this seems to be the outlook of the  Oakley team…they try and take us to the best waves possible…..and they got it spot on.

“My friends”

As a last minute thought, I convinced two of my very dear childhood friends, Nicola Vlok and Grethe Meisner, to join me on this trip to Bali…Their parents could not refuse for they would have been forever unpopular with their teenagers for ruining their trip if they did.   Five days later and two pairs of bankrupt parents, the two were on their trip with me.  They have hardly been overseas before and with booking late, could not get on my flight so they had to do it all alone….connecting flights….via Bangkok….as Nicola said: “I’m not surprised that I am here…it is as if I was suppose to be here…”.

“Sunburn”

It has been winter for so long at home that I forgot to tell them that we are actually on the equator…while we were surfing, preparing for the contest, I let them loose in Kuta’s markets….they cooled off in the sea and spent the whole day in the sun without any sun cream…They got harassed on the
beach by vendors, got their nails done, tattoos on the ankles, masssaaaarggges…..and a huge sunburn…deep fried would be an understatement. When we came in a taxi to collect these lost souls, they would have made crayfish blush. . The last two days they have been avoiding all sun with their mild form of sunstroke…as they say in Afrikaans:  “daar’s nie pille vir domgeid nie”….they have already bought themselves new bikinis on a sale for their “comeback”. I’m so glad I brought them with, for when you are hot and bothered they make you laugh, when you are disappointed with your performance, they reassure you…you are still good enough for us….they are living  normal teenage lives with few worries, few expectations and not taking life too seriously. I look at them and realize what it takes from you as teenager or young adult to live the life of a professional sports person. How serious you take your responsibilities and how you have to put in double the effort to have it all: an academic qualification, a teenage life and a sports life….and be good at all of them.

Tonight the sun set was beautiful over Canggu beach. All the local families came down to the beach and lazed around until it was dark. In the background a band is playing old American songs.  We are a bit sunburnt and I surfed so much that I can’t lift my arms. There is a wonderful summer vibe in the air and everyone is having a good time.  I hear my friends laughter above all the noises…it is so good to have two you here…

“My friends have their own idea and experience of Bali…read their version…”

Bianca

The chance of being invited on a trip to a tropical island is about as big as the chance of losing
weight by drinking diet coke. Being able to go with your friend, who you spend so much time around, it’s unhealthy, only reduces the chances. So where I am standing is when pigs fly, or at least travel at some speed.

Yet it turns out piglet is more aerodynamic than we thought, my old school buddy, Bianca, with
whom I’ve always swapped my peanut sarmie for her jam sarmie, resulted to that forever special bond, turned out to be 17th in the World Qualifying Series for surfing and the number 1 Pro Junior in South Africa.

About a week before the end of the September holidays, Yvette, Bianca’s eccentric mother, casually suggested that we join Bianca for her second participation in World Pro Junior, which would be taking place in the tropical Indonesian island, Bali.

Of course it took some convincing of the parental guardians, but they were so knocked over by the
impulsive act, they numbly agreed. And so it happened, as if it is the most normal and sensible thing to do in one’s school career, that my friend and I packed our bags for Bali… a ballistic experience.

We arrived at Alit Beach Hotel in Kuta to meet up with the Buitendag’s. Short after we embraced
each other with open arms, we drowned each other in the hotel swimming pool. Our spirits full of great expectations and curiosity of what is to come.

Both were met the following day… Even though the equator is generally known as hot and burning, we failed to bust a myth and sourly suffered the consequences for challenging it’s power. We ended up unfamiliar shades of pink and purple for three days, like blushing crayfish. We are forever grateful for sunBLOCK.

Throughout the contest we refused to put a single toe out of the shade (not that we could actually
move) and had, on average: eight mango juices, six chicken sates and fifteen fruit salads per heat. Nevertheless, we supported our friend, sacrificing our lightly roasted skins to the Gods of the ocean.

Bianca finished ninth and within a half an hour we were packed, heading straight for Bingin, where we were heartily greeted by 500 steps and a cute little cockroach in the bathroom, called Lindsay.  We stayed at ‘Nyoman & Nyoman’, and had the luxury of a fan and shower.

In one day we managed to visit Uluwatu, Padang Padang and Dreamland, which give you a total of 5002 steps. Bianca had a surf at Uluwatu and told us of this Australian “grommie” who was horrified, as his die-hard dad pushed him into the waves. At Padang Padang we were mercilessly nagged by locals to buy every single sarong they present. It came down to the fact that the locals are very optimistic and in the Balinese language the meaning of the word ‘no’ does not exist; there is only ‘best price’ and ‘how much’. Our bargaining skills could only hold them back for so long, but we managed a narrow escape.

Legend tells that Dreamland is where 90% of the world’s Asians drown from boogie boarding each year. In comparison with Bianca, Grethe and I, know as much about surfing as a half a Jap. Again we felt the need to play myth busters, and rented two second hand boogie boards. Grethe took the first wave out. I stayed in, but when the first set of waves came, it ate me whole and I ended up on top of some poor little Asian. We retreated home, where Lindsay was patiently waiting.

Bianca did a shoot the next morning in Kuta, where we spent the rest of the day as well. We bargained 10 bintang t-shirts and 6 bintang beer holders al for Rp200 000, that’s about R160. We denied knowing the rules of the beach and seriously pissed off the lifeguards. I drank way to much coconut milk, and experienced the feeling of pregnancy, but it was worth it. We went for incredible hot stone massages. I’m not lying when I say it is good having a hot stone between your bum cheeks.

We have the coolest driver in the world, Wayan. With a sense of humour as dry as Savannah, reggae
music instead of radio, a car that does not smell like the ratio offered
everyday and much more for very cheap.

That night we had to walk down the 500 steps in the dark. I got left behind, which Bianca and Grethe sprinting down with the cell phone light source. The animal in me never came out, so I was stuck in the dark and the biggest problem was that I was wearing nothing, but a sarong and tiny bikini bottoms.

Returning to Bingin we made some human friends for once. Our neighbours (left of us) are a travelling couple, a blond English girl with her guitar playing Ossie boyfriend, who float the world to surf. On our top right, we have a Mexican bongo drum player and his friend from Fiji, and on our bottom right we have a diehard yoga couple. I think for once in my life I may feel normal.

I stepped in a see urchin.

Written by Nicola Vlok

Sitting on the beach at a contest, a friend of mine and I decided that it would be a good idea to gather a couple friends and go to Bali. No contest, no pressure to perform…. not to mention warm water! Me, thinking that it sounded to good to be true, had a peep on the internet to have a look at the cheapest airline rates. One thing led to another and I found myself Google imaging the break we were interested to stay at. My jaw dropped when I saw the “book now” button. Me, three friends and my brother were checking in at Jo-burg airport on the 23^rd of June.

We were welcomed by an equatorial heat wave, followed by a skinny taxi driver named John Lennon. He drove like a maniac and stank horribly. We were dropped off at a little hotel in Kuta central. It took us an hour in the pool to realize that three of the domestic workers were taking pictures of us with their cell phones, so we relocated to Bingin

Bingin is what I had been waiting for. A shack, nutella pancakes and cooking waves… and the continuous urge to reapply insect repellant and swat the flies away. Sleeping on a mattress not fit for a homeless person for R16 a night was a bit extreme, but at least we got waves. Thinking back, I would give anything to be back there right now.

Our daily schedule was: wake up after getting annihilated by mozzies, in the water at the break of dawn as soon as half of Australia paddles out, going to grab a fruit salad with honey, back in the water, ‘middagslapie’, fat noodle and shrimp chow and then again back in the water. More noodles or a fat nutella pancake to finish off a hard day at work. I haven’t even started telling you about those watermelon juices! On average six per day… atleast. The waves were even better than the watermelon juices. Barrels, barrels and some more… barrels! We were lucky to get the tail end of some swell that rolled past.

A week in Bingin temporarily quenched our surfing thirst. From there we started to explore. We rented scooters at the carpark at the top of Bingin and went exploring. We got quite reckless and drag raced down the road to Dreamlands, 110km/h around corners. I nearly scared myself to death! Getting use to the traffic in Bali from the angle of a scooter is quite hair-raising and the competition with all the boys and their scooters almost led to an accident or two. The more careless you drive, the more you fit in. After getting some petrol from an ancient 90 year old (that tried to cheat us with our change) we were off to wherever - passing cows, scrawny dogs with no fur, scooters seating five people, you name it.

As the swell dropped off a bit, we surfed Uluwatu as well as Balagan, both left-breaks that picks up more swell than Bingin. We also took day trips to Cangu and up the east coast where there are always waves.

Canggu has dark sand and is a multiple-peak beach break that isn’t crowded early in the moring. Uluwatu on the other hand is very crowded - a perfect reef break lefthander.

Keramas is apparently where they are having the world juniors this year, and all the boys at home can’t stop talking about it, so I decided to go and check it out. Scorching hot black sand, the best cappuccinos ever and a smoking barreling right. What a wave! Got one or two reef kisses.

We went exploring on our scooters, with our boards and boardies strapped up on the side. We zoomed everywhere (even went to
the extent of walking up and down 540 stairs) only to find some rock pools and some fishermen - no waves - but it was still more than worth it!

Every afternoon we would come out of the water last – sun burnt, hungry and tired - ready for the next session…

Reality hit us when we saw snow on the mountains and roads. We were back at home. It is hard to adapt to our scheduled lives everyday - having the same routine - it makes me crazy. The winter hibernation began.

I’ll be back in Bali in 3 weeks time for the Oakley World Junior competition and I can’t wait! Hopefully it will be as good as the last…