Filling the Void

The Olympic Games are incredible. The concept blows my mind: people from all over the world gathered in one place, competing in a series of interdisciplinary events. It’s all about sportsmanship and national pride (If only religion and politics could do something that cool). I was obsessed this year. Whether it was boxing, slalom kayaking, springboard diving or table tennis, my eye balls were fixed on the TV. Riveted.

There were only two disappointments. One was Judo. Watching judo brought out the school child in me. No one does anything. It’s all blocks and counter maneuvering your opponent. It felt like I was back in high school, cheering on a fight in the bathrooms. “Moer him! Come one, just Bliksem the ou, man! What’s wrong with you?” I wailed. Definitely not a spectator sport.
The other was South Africa’s medal count. Every morning Tim, my English boss and landlord, would walk down stairs with a big smile on his face. “Morning Clayton, watching the games again are you? Oh, jolly good show. Shall we have a look at the medal count then? Ooh, What’s that? England are in the top 5— South Africa…Hmmm, don’t seem to have won a medal yet after the first week?” You can only fall back on the bokke beating England during the World Cup so many times…

Anyhow, when the games were over I mourned for ages. I was still getting up at 6 to watch highlights a week later. But after you start seeing reruns for the twelfth time, you’ve got to let go and accept that it will be a matter of years before the magic happens again.

The Triple Crown of Surfing is not as big as the Olympics, but a part of me feels like its filling the void for now. Although it’s not on TV, I still find myself checking and rechecking the site every day.

The women’s heats of the Reef Pro kicked off this weekend, starting with the trial heats. You can find a highlights package on this link: http://triplecrownofsurfing.com/?cat=19. Look out for Carissa Moore (Hawaii), Laura Enever (Australia), 17, and Coco Ho (Hawaii), 17—they surfed on another level. I’ve never seen young girls kick so much ass in the water.

In the men’s event, Rudy Palmboom Jr. and Jordon Smith (both from Natal) did themselves and the country proud during Round 3. Palmboom advanced to the fourth round, making it through from the first round of competition. This is a phenomenal achievement for any 20 year old. Smith posted the highest heat score of the round.
When round 4 kicks off (which could be any day this week, depending on the conditions), all the seeded South Africans, like David Weare, Greg Emslie, Travis Logie and co. will take to the water. www.tripplecrownofsurfing.com has all the links to each event.