The Xcel Supertubes showdown, if you don't know, is essentially an invite only event for those surfers who have Supertubes wired and who are seen as locals to the break. Sixteen people were invited, ranging in ages from 14 to beyond 50? 

After an awesome day of competition, the Xcel Supertubes Showdown 2009 concluded with Ryan Payne as the overall winner. Among things, that includes him as a Wildcard in the Vonzipper Wild Cards the Billabong Pro.

  The competition  consisted of 4 heats of 45 minutes each and a final of 60 minutes. The winners of the first four heats simply advanced to the finals. One thing that made it interesting was the fact that the JBU guys got to surf on the waves that the competitors did not surf on in between so there was always something to look at when competitors paddled back after a set.

The three musketeer groms, Dylan Lightfooot, Remi Peterson and Steven Sawyer all took part in the event and even though none of them made it through to the final, all three did very well considering their age. There was also a bit of drama in heat 2 when Remi Peterson changed boards mid heat after several "kook mistakes" as he called it. He explained that near the end of the heat he got an amazing ride and then proceeded to tuck into a long barrel to end it off. (Which nobody thought he would make.) He did make it but as he did the exit, somebody was in front of him and he wiped out. Remi left the water before the heat was completely finished and one could see his red face from the boardwalk. When he cooled down after the comp, he was out there, shredding Supers as usual. I think it was just a bit of competition butterflies, or maybe exhaustion after he charged the very heavy swell on Friday. Dylan Lightfoot had a slow start in his heat, but in the closing seconds of heat four, he had an incredible ride and finished it off by riding one barrel beyond car park section until he was out of sight behind the shoulder. We all stopped shooting and then he suddenly popped out hooting with his hands in the air. It seemed as if the commentator did not even notice that he made the exit since he did not make mention of it and the heat was already over in the middle of Dylan's ride.
 

During the quick 20 minute break and in fact the whole competition, Red Bull was so kind to have free drinks in a tub with ice. (I still have a caffeine rush at wee hours of Sunday Morning!) Koffie (more caffeine I'm afraid) also organized grub for everybody and you could just walk in and get a boerewors roll in front of Beach Music Guest house who hosted the event.

The Final
The final was amazing. The guys had so much barrel time, it was difficult to get good shots of them doing anything else. The surf jacked up a little for the 1 hour final and when the sets came, the waves were perfect. It could have been strategy, but Ryan sat more the far right towards Cheron's house and took of right into several barrels. Just back from the Oniel CWC in Capetown, he was in great form. Deon Lategan was really styling. He has a powerful hack to him, but also has a way of moving gracefully on the wave. (He won the prize for best move, apparently for the pooman. Photographic evidence yet to be found) Deon also clocked a lot of barrel time and it is probable that he surfed the most waves of the day. Once again, not maybe the winning strategy, but definately the best way to score perfect waves with an empty lineup. Stanley Badger kept more of a low profile and waited for the right waves. He did pull into a couple of bombs and his bright green vest often blended with the liquid tunnel. Warren Dean and Ryan exchanged a couple of waves and it almost looked like they were doing a man on man heat at some point. Warren had one barrel after the other and one of his rides consisted of three long barrels. In fact, whenever Warren was seen, he was either inside the barrel, or getting out of a barrel or tucking in. Every now and then one of the JBU guys would catch a wave in between and notable was Brad, the local lawyer who was nested in his native Supertubes habitat. Steven Sawyer also made his second appearance of the day but this time as water patrol during the final, showing excellent skill on his backhand and even getting a couple of hoots from the audience.

The judges had quite a hard time to choose a winner, but in the end it was announced in reverse order at the prize giving. Ryan Payne took the honors and also secured himself a as the now revealed mystery Vonzipper Wildcard for the Billabong PRO that's around the corner. Second was Warren Dean, Third Deon Lategan and Fourth Stanley Badger. Ryan's first lady was next to him, and as they posed for the photo he remarked that he is actually holding his real trophy. (10 point score for that one Ryan, btw.)
After the prize giving, Supertubes suddenly got super crowded and the rest of the people watched the Rugby with a beer, more boerewors rolls and good company.

All in all, this was a great competition with great prizes. It was also a real family event. Koffie and his team did a great job in promoting this event and there was quite an incredible turn up. Congratulations to all the competitors and especially to Ryan Payne. Watch out for the 2010 Supertubes Showdown! Only in J-Bay.