Surfing
Surfing
Five surfer girls you should know
Poised to make an impact on the world, this is the next generation of South African women's surfers.
In no particular order, this is the elite of the next generation, who all have futures either as professionals or as a part of the surf industry.
Emma Smith
Emma Smith
© Greg Chapman
Born in East London in 1994, Emma has been living in JBay since 2009 and loving the waves of the area. Constant training with Graham Hynes around the St Francis area has seen Emma rise through the ranks, to the high position she occupies in women’s surfing ranks in South Africa. She also cross-trains with Paul Hugo in the gym and trains hard with her two surfing sisters Gina and Zoe. Being a natural-footer, Emma is very comfortable in the right-hand points of her area, has a solid off-the-top, and has some big plans for her surfing future.
Crystal Hulett
Crystal Hulett
© Kody McGregor
Living in St Francis Bay in a surfing family, Crystal is at home at her two local breaks of Bruce’s Beauties and Anne Avenue. Another natural-footer, Crystal also spends time at Seal Point, surfing and training, and has developed a powerful down-the-line style as a result. Crystal is also a tenacious and fearless competitor and thrives in local surf events, sometimes winning more than one division in a single event. Crystal is always stoked, and is not intimidated when it gets a bit crowded, always getting her fair share of waves.
Tanika Hoffman
Tanika Hoffman
© Ian Thurtell
Hailing from the colder waters of Cape Town, Tanika learned to surf at Muizenberg and graduated to Long Beach when her family moved there. Tanika is a goofy-footer, and with plenty of left-handers around the Kommetjie area, she always has a left to ride. Long Beach is a consistent wave, with waves to surf on most days of the week, and is the wave that Tanika picked up her dynamic style on. Tanika has a fast and loose style, with a stylish forehand off-the-top, and is at home in front the camera as well. She has represented South Africa at the ISA World Games many times and is a multiple SA Champion.
Teal Hogg
Teal Hogg
© Jean-Marc Amoyal
From Durban, Teal is a very successful natural-footer, with some big results behind her. The U17 title in the 2013 Hurley SA Junior Champs in JBay was followed by another victory and the same title in 2014. Last year Teal came from behind, sneaking a cracker wave at the end of the final and smashing it all the way through to the inside to impress the judges and win the title. Teal also competed in Europe on the WQS last year, and has her heart set on qualifying for the Women’s World Championship Tour. She calls Bronze Beach in Umhlanga and Seal Point, Cape St Francis in the Eastern Cape as her two favourite waves.
Chanelle Botha
Chanelle Botha
© Fabian Coetzer
Hailing from Warner Beach, Chanelle Botha is a highly accomplished competitive surfer and is well accustomed to making event finals. After making the finals at the Hurley SA Junior Champs last year and placing 3rd, her brother pointed out to her that she had made every single SA Champs final since 2008. That’s 7 straight finals in a row - an amazing achievement in itself. Another powerful natural footer, Chanelle is a focused surfer with big match temperament, who spends time cross training and working on her fitness to make sure that everything is in place when she competes.
