I am proud of our Border/KuGompo junior surfers.
Of our 12-member junior national team set to participate in the September El Salvador 2026 ISA Junior World Surfing Championships, five surfers are from Border.
That is one short of 50% of the whole surfing team comes from our little town and the rest is shared out by the rest of SA.
Once again, it is a pretty large feather in our cap that excellence can and does come from KuGompo.
It is a joy to me to see our youngsters rise to the top, realise their full potential and take flight like arrows released from a quiver and pierce the bullseye of excellence.
Before having children myself, I might barely have noticed but now as a parent, I can vicariously enjoy the success of my friends and their children.
Also, from an older vantage point, I know what a struggle it is to get a grip on competition surfing, learn every surfing manoeuvre in every condition and put it all on display during the pressure of 20 minutes, three opponents and five judges.
There is the thrill of being in a team and it does not go higher than national representation and the joy of carrying our nation’s flag.
I have a strong understanding of what our juniors are going through and it puts a smile in my heart to watch them succeed.
Three boys, three girls U16 and three boys and three girls U18 again make up the 12-surfer team.
The management team includes friend of Border Surfing, Penny Stemmet (Melkbosstrand) as assistant coach, head coach Liam Wood (Hout Bay) and manager Sisonke Ndum-Ndum (Durban).
The team are U18 boys Rory Dace (Cape St Francis), Matt Canning (Durban) and Josh Malherbe (Border).
The U18 girls are Emily Jenkinson (Constantia) Taylor Emslie (Border) and Camilla Heuer (Border).
In the U16 category, Ben Esterhuyse (Camps Bay), Carl Wiersma (Border) and Melokuhle Zotshana (Durban), make up the boys, and Leah Lepront (Scottburg), Emma Schermbrucker (Cape Town) and Maya Malherbe (Border), make up the girls.
While this is Taylor Emslie’s second tour of duty at this level, local surfers Josh Malherbe, Camilla Heuer, Carl Wiersma and Maya Malherbe are all brand new caps, debut green and gold.
Emslie has ramped up her game exponentially since last year’s world championships and she will be able to share her wealth of experience with the team and inspire confidence and enthusiasm in the new team members.
It has been a particular joy for this writer to watch brother and sister duo Josh and Maya Malherbe come up through the ranks.
Son and daughter to evergreen David Malherbe, these two youngsters already have a solid history in their surfing and, if they have half of their dad’s concrete mindset, they are going to do fantastically well.
Heuer is just a workaholic and built like a secret weapon.
She comes from a history of competitive swim training and has the physicality for a fantastic athletic future.
Wiersma has a finessed front foot to back foot weight transition and deft body language that translates into disproportionate speed.
Judges love surfing that is fast and Wiersma has speed to burn.
It has taken decades of good management from Border/KuGompo surfing to realise this contribution to national junior surfing.
There is a well-known athletic cartoon picture of athletes standing on podiums 1, 2 and 3 above ground, but unseen below ground, the bulk of podiums or building blocks continue, labelled: dedication, training, effort, equipment, sacrifice, heartache, loss, tenacity, risk, action, persistence, commitment, investment, hope, dreams, discipline, blood, sweat, tears and more.
It is an iceberg of sorts where victory is just the pinnacle of what shows above the waterline but the reality is all the work below the surface.
I encourage our young athletes to read up on Vince Lombardi and I paraphrase: “Anytime an athlete goes out to play, he (or she) must play from the ground up.
“From the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play.
“Some athletes play with their head and that is OK, but more importantly, you must play with your heart. Every fibre of your being must play …”
I encourage our juniors to throw the kitchen sink at the world championships.
All the best, boys and girls. We are so proud of you.
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