Umdloti Invitational Surfing competition a total success

Umdloti point has been known to produce some of the most spectacular close outs on the North coast, however on a good day the rights can peel off the point and produce some hollow barrels and exciting surf action.

The event started at 7 in the morning with some clean north easterly swells building into the day and ended just after 2pm.

Some selected competitors were invited to show off their skills, including Umdloti surf heroes Dylan Stewart, Mark Shepperson, Bevan Willis and Wade Simkiss, as well as a few other Umdloti locals. Regular visitors such as Josh and Dan Redman, Brandon Jackson and Chris Frolich were also participating. Fellow North Coast surfers and world champions Twiggy and Banksy were also in the draw.

Local resident, Kyle Heyman, who is just 22 years old, took this initiative and ran with it, scoring a homerun. Kyle spoke to The Bugle after the event.

"I've been living in Umdloti for about 4 years now and have been wanting to give back to my community," said Kyle, "I feel that the UIP (Urban Improvement Project) is doing a fantastic job to the improvement and safety of the Umdloti residents so the idea of a surf competition came to mind to raise funds for the UIP."

After consulting with his boss and owner of the SandBar, Leonard Staples, his idea took legs, "Leonard has been totally supportive and encouraging since the beginning," said Kyle. "My next step was approaching Graeme Bird from Poison City Brewing, another Umdloti local who is a UIP board member. I told him of what I wanted to do and he was really keen to help out and immediately started to get the ball rolling. Within 4 weeks and after lots of hard work, time and effort, Graeme Bird, Callum Carlson and myself had an awesome surf competition organised. I am truly thankful to all the sponsors, judges and locals who really came together to help and make this the successful event that it was. It was beautiful weather, an amazing vibe and the event ran smoothly with no problems."

The prize giving and after party was hosted at the SandBar with an awesome burger and beer special offering, the prizes were incredible, and a huge thank you goes out to the prize sponsors as well. It was an awesome event and we all can't wait for the next one!