Frankie Oberholzer, Ryan Payne, Dale Staples and Davey Van Zyl have been named as the final four invitees to next month’s JBU Supertrial – the winner of which claims a coveted wildcard into the J-Bay Open Dream Tour event.

Frankie will be licking his lips at the chance to surf Supertubes with just a few other guys out.

The four, plus the 12 surfers already announced as trialists represent an exciting mix of old and new-school power and flow, and this should make the JBU Supertrial a contest to behold.

The waiting period commences on 1 June, after which the event will look for the best possible day of surf next month before getting the thumbs-up.

And when it does…we’re hoping to witness some tough battles, last-minute heroics, cooking waves and impossible tubes. Plus we’re excited to find out who will be representing home turf along with Jordy and Travis when the Dream Tour comes to South Africa in July.

JBU Supertrial Invitees:
Sean Holmes
Shaun Joubert
Greg Emslie
Joshe Faulkner
Dylan Lightfoot
Slade Prestwich
Warren Dean
Mikey February
Remi Peterson
Matt Bromley
Beyrick De Vries
Matt McGillivray
Frankie Oberholzer
Dale Staples
Ryan Payne
Davey Van Zyl

Official announcement below.

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FINAL FOUR SURFERS ANNOUNCED IN THE JBU SUPERTRIAL PRESENTED BY RVCA

Jeffreys Bay – The Final four surfers invited into the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA have been announced. They are Frankie Oberholzer, Ryan Payne, Davey Van Zyl and Dale Staples.

The JBU Supertrial is a one day event that will take place on the best day of surf in the month of June. The winner of the JBU Supertrial will receive a wildcard into the Jeffreys Bay Open World Tour event to be held at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay. This event has a waiting period from 10- 21 July, and forms part of the J-Bay Winterfest.

It was a challenge for the contest organisers to choose the final four surfers, as there are so many good surfers in South Africa all deserving of a slot. In the end it was these four surfers, full of talent and experience, who got the nod.

Davey Van Zyl from Durban has been quietly stepping up to the plate over the last few years, racking up impressive contest results as well as turning heads in free sessions. Davey is good in the tube and is hungry to do well.

South Coast legend Frankie Oberholzer is a perennial stand-out at Supers, with his smooth surfing style stranslating well to the perfect walls of Jeffreys Bay. Frankie has been surfing and competing in Jeffreys Bay for two decades and along with Sean Holmes is one of the most experienced of the invitees.

Two-times Xcel Pro Showdown At Supers winner Ryan Payne grew up surfing the waves of Jeffreys Bay, and is a competitive force out at his favourite wave of Supertubes. He is also extremely experienced and could easily bring his winning formula to this event. “I’m off to Namibia right now to surf the best left in the world, but I’m way more excited to receive the news that I’m in the JBU Supertrial,” said a very stoked Payne on receiving the news of his inclusion. “Thanks to all the local crew in JBay and the JBU for having my back. Hopefully I can come through with a good result.”

World Qualifying Series campaigner Dale Staples was the highest placed surfer at the last Association of Professional Surfers (ASP) event that took place in Jeffreys Bay in 2012. Dale placed 5th in that event, and has been a stalwart on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) ever since, pushing hard to break into the World Championship Tour (WCT) ranks.

An exciting addition to this event is a prize from Nixon South Africa. They will be giving a R10,000 Nixon watch to the winner of the JBU Supertrial, who will receive this along with his slot into the main event. The watch is the Capital Automatic, that has a jewel-encrusted Swiss design. For more on Nixon South Africa go to their Facebook page www.facebook.com/Nixon.South.Africa

Firewire Surfboards and Arbor Skateboards are the event co-sponsors.

The trialists are: Sean Holmes, Shaun Joubert, Greg Emslie, Joshe Faulkner, Dylan Lightfoot, Slade Prestwich, Warren Dean, Mikey February, Remi Peterson, Matt Bromley, Beyrick De Vries, Matt McGillivray, Frankie Oberholzer, Dale Staples, Ryan Payne and Davey Van Zyl.