Mr Price Pro Ballito hopeful
For well-known Durban surfer Matt Kruger, his stressful and exacting job as an air traffic service officer at the new King Shaka International Airport and his surfing are a perfect fit. Because he works shifts, he can take time out during the day to enjoy the waves and having eight days off including a long weekend means he can pre plan to take part in events like the Mr Price Pro Ballito.
“Love it!” is Matt’s comment on both his job and surfing about which he has been passionate since his days as a nipper. He began surfing at the age of eight when his father took him out, beginning as a body boarder. When Matt began to stand up, his father decided it was time to start surfing and shaped his first board. He says that his father taught him to “read the waves and read the ocean” and he entered his first contest when he was just 12.
Matt’s training to be an air traffic controller will probably take another three years. He says he has always been interested in aviation and would even like to get his pilot’s licence some day. Having passed a host of difficult tests, he was selected and granted a bursary to pursue his current career which means a rigorous training schedule between Durban and Johannesburg and plenty of practical’s and tough exams. Ultimately, Matt says he hopes to become an approach controller and to stay in Durban as he couldn’t bear being too far from the coast.
Matt has surfed the Mr Price Pro since 1998 and particularly enjoys surfing at Ballito. “The waves are better. It picks up more swell. In the winter, you get the morning north westerly.” He believes that Ballito is also an ideal venue for the Mr Price Pro Ballito as it “gets away from the whole buzz of the city and it is like being in a completely different place with a whole new atmosphere.”
Achievements so far include making the national team in 2006 and 2008, making the junior team a couple of times, winning the SA Champs twice as well as some PSG events. At present, Matt has chosen to surf the local circuit, although would take part in some international contests if invited.
He believes that 2010 will be the year when a South African could again win the Mr Price Pro, keeping the trophy at home in South Africa.