By Charmaine Ndlela
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) has rejected claims that it caused the World Surf League’s Championship Tour stop at Jeffreys Bay to drop off the 2026 calendar.
This after the Democratic Alliance (DA) accused sports minister Gayton McKenzie of failing to secure government backing to keep the contest in the country.
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But DSAC said the event — a long-running and popular fixture on the Eastern Cape coast — is privately owned and promoted, and that the decision to relocate the stop was taken by the World Surf League.
“The public narrative being spread now, by contrast, appears to suggest that the Minister has withdrawn support from the event, leading to its demise,” the department said. “This is highly inaccurate.”
The World Surf League said in a statement this week that
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