Ntando Msibi is the new face of surfing in Durban. The 17-year-old represents the changing demographic of a sport once seen as being almost exclusively for white men. Now, in addition to increasing numbers of black youngsters in the impact zone, older men and women are picking up boards and hitting the waves to improve their fitness levels.In 1965, surfing became an officially recognised sport in South Africa.City officials and surfing organisations this week celebrated the 50th anniversary and the changing demographic that they said would help make the sport and tourism spend grow."Surfing is for everyone," said Msibi, as he stood on Durban's North Beach, still soaking wet and out of breath after competing in the opening heat of the Surf Afrika surfing development competition."More kids like me are coming in and getting stoked about surfing," he said.mini_story_image_hleft1Msibi has been hitting the city's waves for the last nine years and clearly the surfers' lexicon has slipped into his vocabulary. The former street child stumbled across the sport by accident.Looking over his shoulder at the ramps and rails of the nearby skate park, he said: "I used to stay there ... to sleep at the skate park. One day I was just cruising around and I saw a group of guys standing [around] and learning how to surf. I asked them if I could also learn, and I just joined in."And that was when Msibi's love affair with the waves started. Under the mentorship of Tom Hewitt (see accompanying story), he has gone on to surf across the world, has made the KwaZulu-Natal surfing team and was named the province's best surfer last year."When I got the chance to go to SA champs to represent KwaZulu-Natal, that's when I knew this was something I wanted to do. I thought, 'This is so sick. This is what I want.' In two or three years, I want to go professional," he said.But he is not alone.Samkelisiwe Cele, 16, became the first black surfer to participate in the international Ballito Women's Pro competition earlier this week.Pat Flanagan, the co-founder of South African Surfing Legends, said Msibi and Cele were prime examples of a burgeoning breed of surfers."Surfing has never had an elitist attitude in Durban. At the moment we have a growing number of community surfers - and we want future champs from that pool," said Flanagan, the curator of the 50 Years of Surfing exhibition currently running in the city.full_story_image_hleft4But for him, it is the growth in the number of young girls taking up the sport that is the most interesting development."Durban has never really been known for girls surfing. The Cape always led the way. But starting about 15 years ago, more girls starting surfing. It is great to see," he said.Even older people had picked up their boards, he said."Surfing is for life. It's a very healthy sport. If you go down to the beachfront on any given morning when the surf is good, you'll see guys and girls there of all races and ages, from six-year-olds to guys in their 70s and 80s," he said.sub_head_start 'I knew I would be hooked for the rest of my life' sub_head_endThey walk with their boards tucked under their arms, hoping to catch the perfect wave - but these are not your typical surfers. They are former street children using the sport to change their lives."I was out surfing with some girls and when I caught my first- ever wave I felt the world move under my feet," said 23-year-old Sihle Mbutho."I knew I would be hooked for the rest of my life. I took it as a new addiction for me."The young man is a product of the Umthombo Street Children foundation set up by British-born Tom Hewitt. About four years ago, the surfing programme became Surfers Not Street Children, and is still run by Hewitt.full_story_image_hleft2For Mbutho, surfing was his ticket out of a life that he always knew was bad for him. He comes from a poor family in Inanda, a township in the north of Durban, and got involved with the wrong group of people."It's not easy growing up where I did, in a family that was in a bad position financially."I got kicked out of my home because I couldn't follow the rules. I was doing things that made me feel good but I didn't realise then that they were bad," he said.About eight years ago he met Hewitt and his team at Umthombo, and everything changed.story_article_right1"I would come to the beach and watch the guys surfing. Then I joined them one day, and I loved it," he said.Mbutho runs Sihle's Beach Breaks Surfing School, and is an ambassador for Surfers Not Street Children."I just need to get my lifeguard qualification, and then I'll do it full-time. I want surfing to be my day job. I want to be a free surfer, and work in surfing," he said.This is exactly what Hewitt wanted to achieve for the youngsters he helps: "The point is for them to be skilled up for a job. We have one guy who is now a coffee barista, another is pursuing a professional career in surfing and Sihle has his own surf school."Umthombo was aimed at all age groups, but Surfers Not Street Children has become focused on a slightly older age group."These are guys aged 18 to about 23. You know, just because they're 18 doesn't mean they no longer need help and guidance and mentorship."We took what they loved and were passionate about - surfing - and built everything else around that."Our model is fusing surfing and mentorship. In some respects we're like rehab. We turn an addiction into a healthier all-round lifestyle," he said. City looks to bring back days of thunder sub_head_endIf anyone knows anything about surfing in Durban, it is Spider Murphy.For 53 years, the legend of the local scene has been designing and building surfboards that can be found in any part of the globe.Every morning he hits the waves before heading to his workshop in the Durban city centre to start the day.He believes that Durban is just one thing short of being a truly great surf city again - a major international competition.Since the Mr Price Pro - the renamed Gunston 500 - left the city in the mid-2000s and moved north to Ballito after Durban's beachfront upgrade for the 2010 World Cup, the city has not had an equivalent major event on the famed Golden Mile."We used to have big events on the beachfront. We used to have world champions coming through to the city. They would come into my shop and just look around, and chat to the local guys.full_story_image_hleft3"It made us more competitive, and inspired surfers here to be better," said Murphy as he worked, barefoot, on a board he was making for big-wave surfer Twiggy Baker this week.Other surfers agree wholeheartedly. "We've missed the Gunston 500 and the Mr Price Pro in Durban," said Paul Izzard, president of the eThekwini Surfriders' Association."We should be trying to attract, at least, a WQS [World Qualifying Series, the second tier of international surfing] event, which is what they have in Ballito, in the March or April period. We definitely need something like that."At the opening of an exhibition focusing on 50 years of professional surfing in Durban on Thursday, city leaders pledged to try their best to make it happen.Teddi Adams, who represents eThekwini at the World Surf Cities Network, said: "We want to market Durban as the prime surfing destination in Africa. It's what we always were, and what we must get back to."While surfing-linked tourism accounts for most of the money spent on the sport , huge amounts are also pumped into apparel and lifestyle products, equipment , ecology and water-quality maintenance. Videography and photography are also a large part of the sport. savidesm@sundaytimes.co.za..