Surfers Profile Andrez Ceglowski (Red)

Red figure 8 cutback sequence
This is my first of many profiles on Victorian kboarders your chance to get to know kneeboarders that you may never meet but contribute greatly to the sport of kboard surfing.

The first person I would like to introduce you to is Red..
Red is a highly intelligent man an Awesome k boarder and good friend, Originally hailing from South Africa he now calls Victoria home.

Red to me is the thinking mans kneeboarder always Analising human movement and has incorporated improvement and excellence's in not only his own surfing but others that surf with him including me. So here it is the Interview with Red.

1. Nick name?
Red (because I was a Communist – but I’m all better now)
2. Occupation?
I teach accountants about computers at Monash Uni

3. Why did you start kneeboarding?
Only board I had when I was 12 years old and 6’ tall was very short – someone suggested I kneel on it. I got hooked on the abuse I copped.
4. At what age did you start surfing and what yr?
I moved to Durban at 5. I could already swim well. I started using those inflatable rubber things soon after. I did body surfing from about 9 or 10 yo. I started kneeboarding at 12 or so. Used to drag my gear down to the Bay of Plenty after a morning session and sit on the old rock groin at the take off spot and watch the Pros like Shaun Thomson, PT, Reno Abellira etc rip it up.

5. Who are your favourite kborders in Vic?
All of them. Every guy has unique points of style, aggression and ability. Simply don’t get to see enough of them in the water.
6. Which kneeboarder has been a direct influence and inspired your surfing the most?
I grew up with a guy called Lawrence Atkinson and saw Gigs Cilliers from his first contests. They both had big influences on me. I attribute Neil Owen with teaching me technique?
I get inspired every time I surf with Stan Kofoed because of his aggression, with Tim Kadwell because of his smooth positioning, with Pommie Anderson for his tight in the pocket surfing.
7. Who are your favourite kborders in the World?
Matty G for raw talent, strength and fitness.
Gav Coleman for sheer insanity of what he takes on.
Steen Barnes for inspirational moves.
Of course Simon and Baden for being supreme water men – at one with the pulses of the ocean.

8. What other interests do you have?
Big one for the past few years has been designing and production of my Doctor Red Kneeboards. I’ve been focussed on producing a unique solution to speed, power, manoeuvrability. I believe I have achieved what I set out to do – to introduce a new concept that I can call my own.
The changes in board production technology continue to be a challenge. Watch this space.
I’ve been doing a form of fluid movement yoga called Yoga Synegry for a few years. I now do yoga every morning and have noticed enormous benefits in strength, endurance and balance.
9. Do you have any sponsors and if so what companies?
Yeh right
10. What have been your best results in competitive surfing?
I guess this was winning the ’07 Vic Titles as a cap to winning the Phillip Island Boardriders for a couple of consecutive years.
I’ve had a string of seconds at professional contests starting with the Crosby Tools in ’82 or something, the Masters at the Tahiti Worlds in ’05 and a couple others I don’t recall.
I’m most proud of the Tube of the Contest from the Island contest in ’06 or so. I’m still trying to get another one of these.
11. Do you think competition improves your surfing standards?
Competition has been a prime motivator for me to turn higher, harder, faster. It’s one of the reasons I worked so hard on my technique over the past 10 years and the reason I had to start shaping my own boards.

12. What contribution do you think you have given the sport of kboarding?
I’ve tried to be an ambassador for kneeboarding in and out of the water.
On a formal basis, Lawrence Atkinson and I started the first kneeboard club in South Africa (in ’79 or something). This led directly to the first South African pro kneeboard contests, an independent SA kneeboard titles with several age divisions, and the first kneeboard worlds held in Durban.
Over the years I’ve had the chance to drink a fair bit of beer over boardroom tables with representatives of surfing and coached the Western Province state kneeboard team a couple of times, but the most fun I’ve had drinking beer has been at the four Red’s Coopers Cup events that have been held on the Friday before the Phillip Island Classic.
13. What things do you think we could do to improve our sport?
Every kneeboarder getting off their ass and supporting grassroots events and gatherings. Video footage and playback.
An elite circuit would help.
Getting people off beginner boards and onto high performance equipment.
14. Favourite manoeuvre?
Tub (of lard) – but only if I make it
15. Favourite drink?
Warm homemade soy milk from my mom (especially if I’m cuddled up in bed with my honey)
16. Food?
Fruit and veggies for breakfast – minimal preparation, completely portable and non-repeating during hold-downs.
17. Famous person I would like to have a drink with?
Derek Hynd again, because he’s a smart guy doing some different things

18. Best Movie or Video?
Blue Velvet
19. Music?
The Reverend Horton Heat and all the other psychobilly ravers
20. First Car?
75 rand for a VW 411 stationwagon. Lots of surf trips until it let us down on the side of the highway at 2am. The girls weren’t happy!
21. Best Movie or Video
Hey – this is a repeat
22. First Kneeboard?
A homemade stinger single fin that could do on rail snaps in the mouth of the tube. Friend heard PT remarking on the uniqueness of the turn (in ’75 or something)

23. Favourite Kneeboard?
My current one – velvet smooth, tube machine, fast and quick
24. Best Surf Break?
Just memories of great sessions: J-Bay, Cave Rock, Winkipop (both of them), Wooly, Gunna, Quarra etc etc
25. Best Surf Session?
Just memories of great sessions: J-Bay, Cave Rock, Winkipop (both of them), Wooly, Gunna, Quarra etc etc
26. Dream Surf Spot?
Take any of the above, add waves, offshore and friends. Anywhere that builds over a period of days to 8-10ft, giving a chance to get used to it and really get the spot wired before the consequences get severe.
27. Surf Injuries?
Broken Nose (a lot of times)
Stitches (dozens)
Cracked rib
Popped spine thingy
Basically every time I go surfing with Stan at some heaving, dangerous spot. I now know better and sit on the beach or shoulder.

28. If I ruled the world?
Too hard to put at the end of 30 questions.
Peace love and harmony (or I’ll shoot ya!)

29. Best Advice I have received?
Forget her – she wasn’t worth it

30. Your partners and kids names if you have any?

Jianyun, but you can call her Jane (I do!)

ATTENTION Kneeboarders over 30yrs of age

Tim Kadwell at Flyns Reef PI Classic contest

This yr masters games are being held in Vic and surfing is part of these games the devisions are men and womens stand up surfing and kboard.

The surfing events will be held at Torquay Here are the details from surfing Australia..

Australian Masters Games - 12th Australian Masters Games welcomes surfing
Thursday, 17 July 2008

World renowned Victorian beach, Jan Juc will be the venue for the Surfing Competition of the 2009 Australian Masters Games. Surfing is a new sport for the Australian Masters Games, and organizers are keen to encourage as many surfers as possible competing.

The Surfing Event will be held from February Monday 23rd through to February Friday 27th. There will be Mens and Womens competitions in Shortboard, Longboard and Kneeboard for age divisions of 30+, 40+, 50+ and 60+. The event has been allocated 5 days including waiting days to make sure of the best possible conditions.

Surfing Victoria will be coordinating the event on behalf of the 2009 Australian Masters Games which is hosted the Confederation of Australian Sport (CAS), the peak body for sport in Australia.

Registrations for the Games are now open. Participants can use the simple and easy to use Online Registration System at www.AustralianMastersGames.com or phone 1300 725 266 to arrange for a Registration Booklet to be posted.

Further information www.AustralianMastersGames.com


Hope to see heeps of kneelos there...A good warm up for the worlds!!!

Stan

2008 vic titals results

4th Neil Owen

3rd Place Red Ceglowski

Runner up Vic Titals Mark Foxman

2008 Vic Champ Stan Kofoed

On Saturday 2nd of May Surfing Victoria held their state titles contest. So I was up early in the morning 5am, throw my Stump Kneeboards and wetties in to the back of my trusty ford panel van while my wife prepared other goodies for our trip to the Island, then we were off.

The kneelo’s had to get there first as they had the biggest amount of entrants in the state titles event… More than any of the other age group stand-up surfing entrants and they were sending us out first “normally we are in last”.

So I get to the island at 715 am and the first heat starts at 730am I was greeted by an onshore six foot swell with the odd bigger heavy bomb and no define bank, there would have been some better more contestable places to hold the event so competitors could have fun, but surfing Victoria have a policy that if the event states a beach they cannot change the event to another location “this policy sucks” and is why there has been a decline of entrance in surfing Victoria events.

People want to have fun in the surf not cop a pounding in treacherous conditions like the Victorian coast line can produce, especially the beach breaks off the Mornington Peninsula and Phillip island, but the island has some great waves in protected locations that would of promoted a great fun enjoyable event.

Anyway enough of my winging, the first heat of the event was paddling out kneeboard heat 1 with Red, Garry Clark, Mark Foxman, and Irish.

A very heavy shory greeted them for the first 30 meters of paddling with a rip sweep travailing at about eight knots pulling the competitors in to some very heavy close outs. Mark and Red got out in time to just be missed by some big bombs but Garry Clark wasn’t so lucky with bomb set waves punishing and pounding him, these waves would have knocked the wind out of anyone’s sails.
By this stage Gary had been taken by the sweep to a location where he could not recover just getting pounded for the entire heat he showed so much curage and determination to keep going and cop a 20 minute pounding.

Red and Mark picked off the best waves of the heat with Red catching a 6ft left hander, slaying some powerful critical slashes finishing off in to a heavy 5 ft bottomless closeout shory turning in to the lip to execute a power reo, sending up a 12 foot spray off his board as he broke his fins out of the wave lip and a descending freefall at great speed to land his final turn. The judges scored him a 8pt ride. He finished up winning this heat and straight in to the final with the rest of the competitors in his heat having to go in to the repechage semi final.

I was in the next heat with Anthony Jewl this was his fist surfing Vic contest in 12 yrs. It was great to see him compete he had represented Victoria at the Aus titles on a few occasions in the past, so he knows how to handle conditions like this with confidence Neil Owen, Gary Finger and a no show.

I was paddling out with Gary Finger just copping a pounding paddling through a shory. You could feel the white water prying your fingers backward off the board and turning your eyelids inside-out as you were trying to paddle under the waves, pulling you back 20 metres with every pounding. The white water felt like a sumo wrestler was jumping all over your back contorting you body in to all different positions.

Finally I get out with the rest of the competitors and I watch Gary Finger take off on a 6 ft right hander as he was heading in to his bottom turn the wave bottomed out putting him in to a bone crushing nose dive wipe-out. I remember looking at him thinking I hope that doesn’t happen to me “yeah that nearly psyched me out”. A few seconds later he popped up from this pounding smiled paddled out and caught the next wave showing a ton of curage. Tony and Neil were getting a few good lefts. I had got a few one manoeuvre waves and then had lucked on to a right hand wave that ran of and allowed me to get some turns, the wave then reformed and went left and allowed me to get a few more turns scoring 8.33pt ride witch got me in to the final with Tony 2nd Gary 3rd and Neil 4th.

Mark Foxman, Gary finger, Neil Owen & Tony Jewl were in a semi final to surf off for the two vacant positions in the final to join Red and myself.

The surfing in the semi was AWESOME with each of these competitors taking it up to each other in bad heavy bone crushing conditions. They made the conditions look good with an excellent kneeboard surfing display.

Mark Foxman cought a filthy right hand wave in the semi with some great smooth moves and a power floter in the shory to finish this wave off. It was going to be hard for the other competitors to peg him back. Mark won the semi Neil Owen 2nd just edging out Tony Jewl 3rd and Gary Finger 4th so it was Mark and Neil to join Red and myself in the final.

In the final the Tide had got lower and had made it harder to find any waves running off. A lot more bottomless Woolie closeouts I got out past the shory with the rest of the lads Red was paddling about 20 ft behind me on a shallow bank when I had taken of on a 6ft closeout that only allow me to get one turn but these things were breaking on a rib smashing head spinning 4 ft deep sand bank and landed directly on Red giving him the hiding of his life leaving him disorientated and out of position for the remainder of the heat.


Mark and Neil were getting some reform rights with Mark getting the pick of the bunch by this Stage I had lucked on to a wave that ran off instead of closing out and needed one more wave to consolidate my position. As I was paddling out one had just suck up in front of me. Mark also had his sights on this wave but I got on to it and it ran off allowing me to get a few turns

The final results for the Victorian titals were 1st Stan Kofoed, 2nd Mark Foxman, 3rd Red Cegklowski, 4th Neil Owen.

The kneeboarders really put on a good show at this event normally dominated by stand up surfing and the surfing Australian governing body with there anti kneeboard and amateur surfing policies Eg. if its not profitable lets not have them in our events. With the kneeborders having the biggest division of the day and 2 of the 3 highest scoring waves of the day.
Thank to all the kneelo’s for turning up and showing surfing Vic that we are a valuable force in surfing.

because there is nothing like that kneeling off the ceiling feeling..
HAVE FUN & STAY SAFE