Close to 186 longboard surfers, as well as their families and friends flocked to Cape St. Francis last August to participate in the 2024 South African Longboard Championships.
The SA Longboard Champs is a popular surf event that is traditionally known as a family event, often attracting surfers across several generations in the same family. This year, surfing families from all around the country descended onto the Kouga region to take part in the event. The feedback with regards to the spectacular waves, well-kept beaches & good atmosphere was so positive that surfers are hoping the event will return to Kouga again next year.
A total of 70 people were employed for the 8-day duration, pre and post event. Throughout the event, exclusive use was made of Jeffreys Bay’s local vendors, security personnel, medical staff, and suppliers.
We, the SA Longboard Champs committee, are looking for your support and sponsorship for the upcoming SA Champs which will be held in Jeffreys Bay from the 6th till the 11th May 2025.
Background Information on SALSA (Now SA Longboard Surfing)
The SALSA was constituted in 1989. We have run a national championship every year bar 2020 (Due to COVID). This will be our 35th Anniversary.
We are affiliated to:
- SSA (Surfing South Africa), the governing board for all surfing codes in South Africa.
- SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), which along with Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) controls all sport in South Africa.
Membership of SALS is drawn from the five longboard surfing clubs of South Africa, principally Western Province, Eastern Province, Eden (Southern Cape), Border and KZN. The growth in popularity and participation in longboard surfing has been exponential over the past 10 years. Membership covers the full age spectrum. Competition caters for all age groups (U14 to 70+), all races, and both genders. Our community is very much family-based and is anti-sexist and anti-racist.
SALS provides the platform for SA long boarders to participate in organised competition. It provides surfers the opportunity to compete:
- Locally in club contests and the annual club SA Longboard Surfing Championships.
- Internationally, our top Longboarders compete at the ISA World Championships and on the prestigious WSL (World Surf League) circuit.
- A development programme has been in operation for a number of years and the fruits of this effort have for some time been seen with development athletes winning various age divisions in recent years. Kwezi Quike represented South Africa at the 2012 ISA World Championships in France, Alfonso Pieters was part of the 2017 team in China and the 2019 team in France and more recently, Mbuso Zozi has been selected to represent South Africa at the 2024 ISA World Longboard Surfing Champs.
Highlights of Team SA performances at World Champs:
- Team SA 2013 placed 2nd overall. (There have only been three events since 2013.)
- Simone Robb (WP) ISA Open Woman World Champion 2013.
- Matthew Moir (WP) double ISA World Champion 2007 & 2009.
- Steven Sawyer (EP) WSL World Champ 2018.
- We also had many women representing SA at various international Longboarding competitions: Crystal Hullett at the ISA World Games and WSL events. Christy Gilmour and Roxy Davis at the ISA World Games as well as Haley Hansen at a WSL event. Tarryn King and Marishka Myers at the ISA World Games as well as Christy Gilmour in Mexico at the MexiLogFest.
- Sam Christianson represented South Africa on the 2024 World Longboard Tour.
From these results, it can be seen that longboard surfing in South Africa is of an exceptionally high standard.
Rationale For Request For Sponsorship
This SA Longboarding event presents a unique opportunity to expose traveler’s from various provinces in the country to J-Bay and Cape St Francis’s offerings, its excellent waves, and many other attractions it has to offer.
In many instances, this first trip proves to be the first of many surf trips to the Eastern Cape, thereby securing infinite future revenue for the town. Extensive media coverage of the event ensures that the exposure does not end there, but extends beyond the reaches of the physical experience to show off J-Bay’s offerings online, with viewers tuning in from all around the world, further establishing Jeffreys Bay as a goto surf destination .
The event is expected to run for six days.
The anticipated budget for the entire event is R 400 500.00 in total.
Sponsorship Requests
We are looking for a monetary sponsor to assist us in covering some of the costs for the event. There are many costs involved when it comes to such a big event like this. We have judges to pay, medical, water safety, infrastructure, staff, sound, electricity and many more.
We would be thrilled to partner with you and we would be hugely grateful for any monetary sponsorship to assist us with the costs of the event.
During the event, at the event site we would love to have any branding up that you are able to provide us with.
Sponsorship Packages
| Sponsorship packages. | Bronze (Non-monetary, product sponsorship only) | Silver (R50 000) | Gold (R100 000) | Platinum (R200 000) |
| List of branding opportunities per package. | Branding on site that the sponsor provides us with. | Branding on some infrastructure and advertising boards. | Branding on some infrastructure and advertising boards. | Title Sponsor |
| Advertising of the product by athletes and spectators. | Put up some banners and branding at the site that the sponsor provides us with. | Banners and any other branding equipment to be put out at the contest site. | Full exterior branding on infrastructure. | |
| Social Media coverage. | Social Media coverage. | More social media coverage. | Branding on all posters and banners. | |
| Branding on posters and banners. | Branding on printed heat flow boards. | |||
| Branding on printed heat flow boards. | Banners and any other branding equipment to be put up at the contest site. | |||
| Full social media coverage across all platforms. | ||||
| Website reference, home page and sponsors page with links. | ||||
| Branding on event rashvests and t-shirts. |
Commitment and Reciprocity from SALS
Pollution has a huge impact on our oceans and we as surfers are always very protective of our oceans and we want to keep them clean and keep the sea life safe for as long as possible so that the next generations to follow will be able to enjoy the beautiful oceans we have today! We will be ensuring that all surfers will help protect the environment and will be doing their part to help save our oceans. We are planning daily beach clean-ups in the area to create awareness of the impact that plastic pollution has on the sea and marine life.
We will be undertaking a social responsibility project by collecting surf equipment from our participants for the local surfers who cannot afford to purchase new goods. These will be donated to our local surfing NGOs.
We will promote the contest via the following methods that have been proven to work in advertising surfing events:
- The SA Longboard and SSA website
- Posters around the main surf hubs in SA
- Local community papers
- The SA surfing network namely ZigZag and Wavescape
- We are also looking at Live streaming on Youtube but currently don’t have the funds for it.
Interested to Become Involved?
