RYD at the SA Longboard Champs
From supporting sponsor to presenting sponsor and back on the beach — our history with the national title.
The South African Longboard Championships is the pinnacle event on the local longboarding calendar — the national title, run by Surfing South Africa. RYD's involvement with it goes back further than most people realise.
How we got involved
RYD first showed up as a supporting sponsor back in 2023, when the Champs were held at Jeffreys Bay Point (Spar carried the title sponsorship that year). By 2024, RYD had stepped up as the presenting sponsor — "the South African Longboard Championships, presented by RYD" — when the event moved to Seal Point in Cape St Francis, drawing close to 200 competitors from around the country.
2025 saw RYD back as presenting sponsor again, with the Champs returning to Jeffreys Bay Point — one of the best longboarding waves in the country.
2026 — a different role
This year, sponsorship of the event moved on: Surf Emporium, the well-known Muizenberg surf shop, stepped in as the new presenting sponsor for the rebranded "Surf Emporium SA Longboard Championship," now also carrying a World Surf League Longboard Qualifying Series alongside the national titles.
RYD wasn't the presenting sponsor this year — but we were still there, cheering on our own team of riders in the water. From what we saw on the beach, they surfed some of their best heats of the year and did the brand proud, whatever the final results end up showing.
Why this event matters to us
The SA Longboard Champs isn't just a competition — it's where the next generation of South African longboarders get their start, and where the community that's shaped RYD from day one comes together every year. Whether we're the name on the banner, or just there on the beach supporting our own riders, it's an event we care about.
May the waves be good where you are.