CAPE RECIFE, GQEBERHA, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA (Tuesday, August 26, 2025) – The 12th annual Cobbles Classic ran in epic conditions this past weekend, with longboarders from all around South Africa having the opportunity to experience the Cobbles break in all of its glory. The event itself is a fan favourite amongst the dedicated longboard community, and with the 2025 edition seeing a record number of women entering, as well as an overflowing men’s division, it really brought a spotlight onto the growing longboard talent in South Africa.

The once underground Cobbles surf break is arguably the de facto wave where the art of “logging” was re-ignited into the South African surf community. In the early 2010’s a group of core locals tired of the then-popular “hang and bang” style of longboard surfing, and frustrated with the general lack of longboard events, created The Cobbles Classic. The idea was to be able to compete in the re-imagined style of logging, and as a way of spreading the love of single fin riding to the surf community. The continued aim of the event is to have a platform that showcases the best longboarding in the country, gives local brands an opportunity to grow their businesses, and also encourages the community to come together to trade ideas and conversations, and to share the stoke of this beautiful form of wave riding.

Whilst the event focuses on the community as a whole, there is still a big drive from all competitors to surf for one of the coveted awards. This is notoriously difficult to do as not only do the top South African surfers compete, but specialist Cobbles locals enter the event and are really difficult to beat at their home wave. This year, J-Bay’s Coert Venter, and Cobbles local Mia McGregor won the highly coveted Men’s and Women’s divisions. Both Venter and McGregor were in top form throughout their early round sessions, and continued their momentum into the Finals where they took home the victory. The King and Queen of Style awards are highly sought after, and are voted for by all the competitors. This year’s winners were Cobbles local Pierre Bassett and Cape Town’s Taio Veitch. They clearly impressed the voters with their clean surfing, drawing beautiful lines most notably in their respective Semi Finals. Another competitor voted award is the Surfer’s Surfer. This specialty award goes to the surfer who, in the mind of the other competitors, embodies the soul of longboarding. They are essentially the people’s champion. This year, Guy Campbell won the title and true to the awards name, was a living representation of what surfing is about. Campbell was one of the top surfers through the opening sessions ending up number 2 on the rankings before getting knocked out in the Semi Finals. His authenticity in the water, as well as on the beach, gave him the nod for Surfer’s Surfer. The Cobbles Local of the Event was awarded to Kody McGregor by the “elder” statesmen of the Cobbles break. Winning the Analogy Surfboards 10k surfboard raffle was Allen Harris from East London.

RESULTS

Men’s Final Results

1st – Coert Venter

2nd – Craig Cuff

3rd – Bennett Thomas

4th – Shane Fourie

Women’s Final Results

1st – Mia McGregor

2nd – Michelle Van Kempen

3rd – Kiri Twentyman Jones

4th – Kirsty Teichart

Surfer’s Surfer – Guy Campbell

King of Style – Pierre Bassett

Queen of Style – Taio Veitch

Cobbles Local of the Event – Kody McGregor

Analogy Surfboards 10k surfboard raffle winner – Allan Harris