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When I called Antoine on the morning of 16th
October, he was ecstatic. "So it's
really true?" he asked... (I'd told Ash Nesbit the night before on conditions of
strictest secrecy - apparently he called Antoine and spilled the beans immediately...)
 Dubai Shamaal Anchorman: Antoine De Rooster!
South African born
Ant the Rooster (as the Dubai crowd immediately christened
him) was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, so he has the right breeding to be
a World Champion (like the Springboks, he just needs an Aussie coach to see him
right!) (Just joking - but yeah, we're
all on a high here in South Africa after our rugby boys worked their way to a
triumphant finish at the world cup in France...)
He lived in South Africa until age nine - which means he's
been in Australia for ten years - yep, our winner is just nineteen years
old. (As Oscar Chalupsky said when told
who'd won the Epic V10E, "That's fantastic! The youth are the future of the
sport, all his mates are going to be envious as hell and are going to want to
try the ski - and the sport...")
 Ant showing form at training with Ash Nesbit
He's a student, reading Chemical & Process Engineering
at Curtin University in Perth, WA. "When
I'm avoiding uni work (which I often try and do)," he said, "I'm either down at
the beach training or playing with my car."
Lovely Girlfriend
You can tell a lot about a guy by the way he talks - the things
he cares about are often top of mind.
The second sentence of his email mentions his "lovely girlfriend Stacee". The third sentence asks, "Can she come to
Dubai too?"!
It seems he met Stacee on his first day at Uni and hasn't
recovered since. She's doing a BSc in
Nursing - clearly an asset for an athlete needing specialist care after a hard
day's paddle...
 ...met Stacee the first day at Uni!
Paddling Career
Ant starting surf lifesaving at age 11 and had his eye on
skis from the start. His chance came
during the 2004/2005 surf life saving season when he started paddling with Rick
Duncan and the Trigg island ski squad.
"I had heaps of encouragement paddling with guys like Reece
Baker and Dean Beamont," Ant said. "Reece was able to get me paddling with the
WAIS kayak squad but I just never liked paddling in dead flat water, there is
just no excitement, just no waves and no sharks to watch out for."
He's competed in 3
state titles and 2 national titles through surf life saving, and won numerous
medals at a state level, and made some finals at a national level but never
managed to get hold of a medal.
 Ant at State Champs..
This year he competed
in his first Avon Descent in a team of four with Brendan Rice, Todd Brewer and
Michael Ray. They managed to place 4th in the open division although we were
all under the age of 19. "We were pretty happy just to see Sven Bruss still
hanging around at the finish," he said.
This year will be his
first competing in the open age group against people like Clint Robinson, Reece
Baker and Ash Nesbit. "For the time being," he said, "my goal is just to
persist and maybe in a couple of years I will be able to finish next to them. "
Way of life
"For me paddling is not only a fun way to stay fit and have
some fun with mates," And said, "it's a way of life and a way to just wind down and chill
in the ocean, there aren't many things better than that."
Dubai Trip
Antoine is being coached by Ash Nesbit (and just had only
his third session with Ash - lots of work to do). "Ant had never paddled a full blown Ocean
Racing Ski until today I let him use my Fenn Millenium Vacuum," Ash said. "He couldn't believe the extra speed in the
boat next to his SLS spec ski. I said to him now imagine a boat 3kg lighter
again and you have your Black Epic Beast........his response and facial expression were
priceless!!"
 Congratulations from team mate Michael (Gollum) Baker
Ant will be joined in Dubai by paddling team mate Michael "Gollum"
Baker who, Ash said, should put up a good showing if the water is flat. "Bakes has been coached by me for a number of
years," said Ash, "is also a WAIS athlete and under 23 Australian Kayak Team
Member."
"I would expect Ant to be middle of the field in Dubai......he
is a fun guy and I sure he will enjoy and take a lot out of the experience!"
Shamaal Anchorman
What does Ant take away from the Shamaal Anchorman
competition?
-
All expenses paid trip from Perth, WA to Dubai,
UAE to take part in the Dubai Shamaal International Surf Ski Race
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Participation in peripheral events: Dubai
Sevens, dune bashing, beach parties, fishing, golf, and more
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A US$6,500 8kg Epic V10E surf ski to paddle the
race in and to take home.
What a party! Surfski.info
is proud to be associated with the Dubai Shamaal and we offer our
congratulations again both to Ant and to the Shamaal organizing team.
For more info on the race: www.dubaishamaal.com
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Gary Kroukamp