JEFFREYS BAY – The South African Beach Wrestling Championships, with Je’Vista joining as event title sponsor, will take place at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay on 28 March from 08:00, marking the first time the event will be hosted in the town.
Beach wrestling differs from traditional wrestling in that matches are shorter and consist of only one round, with the first competitor to obtain three points declared the winner.
Eastern Province head coach, Lionel Botha, said that it is a significant occasion for Eastern Province to host the national event, as the province boasts the current SA beach wrestling champions who were crowned overall winners of the 2025 tournament.
He said that spectators can look forward to high-quality wrestling, with all EP’s 2025 SA champions set to return to defend their titles.
Botha further said that a total of 250 wrestlers from 13 provinces are expected to compete.
He added that the sponsorship is a major boost for the province.
“To have Je’Vista as the title sponsor means a lot for EP wrestling to host a big SA tournament. Their support means that we can call the tournament our own and give more EP wrestlers the opportunity to compete,” said Botha.
Additional local sponsors include Wacky Waterpark, Royal Casino, Supertubes Adventure World, Klinicare JBay and Relay EMS.
Botha added that other local businesses have shown interest.
Meanwhile, the EP Trials will be hosted by Young Park Primary School in Gqeberha in their own beach wrestling pit built specifically for the trials, with more than 70 entries expected to participate.
“The wrestlers will go all out because if they do not perform, they will not be picked for the EP team,” said Botha.
Remarkably, EP wrestler, Stefan Roberts (15), has qualified for the Protea national team in the freestyle and Greco-Roman styles and will compete at the African Wrestling Championships in Egypt in April after finishing first at the recent national trials.
“Stefan has been EP’s top wrestler for two consecutive years, consistently dominating his age groups in both styles and excelling in his weight class. He is only 15 years old but has made the team as an u/17 wrestler,” said Botha.
He said that the last time an EP wrestler represented the national team was 16 years ago, when Carlo van Wyk made the team.
Botha said the Jeffreys Bay event will make use of local food stalls and restaurants, with Relay EMS from JBay providing medical services.
The live streaming company is also local, while guest houses and the Big Fish Caravan Park have been booked for the tournament.
“The impact of the event will be huge for Eastern Province because we can enter a big team because we do not have travelling and accommodation expenses,” said Botha.
He added that the province hopes to impress the SA Board of Wrestling.
“We hope that we can put together a tournament for the SA Board of Wrestling so that they can see that JBay and its Blue Flag beaches are the best in the country and the location of the beach to all the restaurants and accommodation is just unbelievable,” said Botha.
“We hope to give our sport more exposure and show the rest of the Eastern Cape that beach wrestling has its place in modern wrestling.”
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