Category: NATASHA GOULDSBURY

If you were able to believe in Santa Claus for, like eight years,
you can believe in yourself for, like five minutes.

Coming up

I am really looking forward to catching up with the guys from Breakers Restaurants and competing in Hawke’s Bay at the Backdoor Bay Bash in a week’s time. It was unfortunately postponed last month due to a lack of swell. Fingers crossed we’ll have some waves this time! I don’t find out which beach the comp is until the day. The two event locations are Te Awanga – which is a right hand point-break that can be really fun when there is swell – and Waimarama, a beach break over sand and rock. It
features a range of peaks which break out from the carpark and often result in good rights. North of the boat ramp, you will find a couple of reef breaks producing rights and good lefts..

Training

Lately I’ve been working on getting more vertical on the end section and I’m also still doing strength-and-conditioning training. I really enjoy trying new things to improve my sur ng. Taranaki has been producing some sick waves recently and I have been able to surf just about every day, which has been super fun!

 

Be yourself. Because an original is worth more than a copy.

Backdoor Bay Bash

I’m really looking forward to heading over to Hawke’s Bay in mid-November to compete in the Backdoor Bay Bash for the first time in two years, which is the final Surfing NZ event for 2018. The competition is held at either Te Awanga or Waimarama. I’ll be surfing in the Open Women’s, U18 and U16 girl’s divisions. I think the event is well run and always has
good vibes and good people around it, and it would be great to end the year with a good result.

Training

Since my last blog I have been working on my technique instead of doing heaps of snaps trying to do something more dynamic like Reos (re-entries) and getting my front foot above the lip line. With doing Reos you get scored higher because it is a bigger turn than doing a snap but also, I have been working on doing the Reos in the right spot, on the closeout section and not trying to do it in the at section of the wave. (Thanks Dad for filming and Jarred for breaking it down!)

Scholastics

Last month I went to Gisborne for the 2018 NZ national scholastic surfing champs where there were 11 teams and you had to compete for your team. I was part of team Taranaki. We arrived on the Sunday and the comp started on Monday, so we went for a surf and there was no-one out (but we made an instant crowd!)

The scholastics went for 4 days and it was pumping for most of the week. On the 1st day only the boys surfed so we had a whole day to prepare. On the second day I surfed my first 2 heats and got 1st in both and that meant I made it to the finals. On the third day all the boys surfed again by the end of the day most of the boys got knocked out and to top that o , both the van’s batteries went  at but thankfully there was a very helpful guy that wouldn’t stop until our van started. He even towed it down a hill to get it started! Once the finals rolled around it started to go onshore but it was still fun. I was competing in the U14 girl’s division where I placed 1st with a heat total of 9.10 and our team came 10th overall. Just a week after getting home from scholastics I competed in the 2018 Bayleys Real Estate Aotearoa Maori titles at Stent Road, South Taranaki. When we arrived early on the Saturday morning the waves were pumping, o shore and clean. I didn’t realise how much of a full-on day I had ahead of me. I surfed before the comp at 7am and then 4 heats through the day, with the last  nal at 8pm as the sun was
setting. I was pretty happy with my performance placing 3rd in both the Open Women’s and U18 girls.

No one ever injured their eyesight by looking on the bright side. – Unknown

In pursuit of perfection

One of the things I’ve been working on since my last blog is maintaining speed through my turns, which means tweaking my technique. Through some video analysis (thanks Dad for videoing me and J-Rod for the breakdown!) I’ve been able to see where my technique is different to the world’s best surfers. The biggest struggle is breaking bad habits and creating new ones but I am getting there!

Hard work pays off

Since my last blog, I’ve competed in Event #3 and #4 of the Perfect Wave Super 8 series. In Event #3, I was super-stoked to win the U18 Boys’ and the Open Women’s divisions and made it through to the quarter – finals in the Open Men’s. In Event #4, I again won the Open Women’s division and finished 4th in the U18 Boys’ and got knocked out in Round 2 of the Open Men’s division.

Surfing tips for up-and-comers

The board you surf on makes all the difference! You need to make sure that your board is the right type, shape, length and has the correct volume for you in order to catch waves easily and have fun. Before you buy a board, talk to a shaper or surf shop on what would be right for you.

Nationals are coming my way!

Yay!!! The Surfing NZ Health 2000 Nationals will be held in Taranaki in January 2019. The last time this event was held here was in 2007 and it will be fantastic to have NZ’s best surfers back here again competing in all divisions for both Women and Men, from U14’s right through to Over 50’s. This event also includes Longboard and SUP. With some amazing reefs, points and beach breaks in the region, it’s going to be really exciting!

There’s no such thing as bad weather..
Sometimes you just have to create your own sunshine…

Where’s my next competition

My next competition is at Fitzroy on the 25th of August. The conditions aren’t looking that great but I am really looking forward to competing again and surfing with my friends. it should be a fun event. This is event 3 of the Perfect Wave Super 8 series. There should be some good competition and I will be competing in the Open Men’s, U18 Boys and the Open Women’s. I go into this event leading the Open Women’s, 2nd in the U18 Boys and 7th in the Open Mens.

Raglan

On the 7-8 of August I went to Raglan to surf in the Raglan Surfing Academy Secondary School Championships. The day before the competition started there were heaps of grommets in the water and unfortunately my board got dinged by another grom’s board which left a gaping big hole in front of one of my fins – luckily it wasn’t my in box! I had to dry my board out as much as I could before I could get it repaired, which meant balancing it between the benchtop and couch with the heater on high underneath the board and sweating all night in our tiny cabin! The next day we took the board into Mark Camenzind at Camenzind surfboards who did a sick repair in just a few hours. The conditions were pretty good on the first day of the competition. We got to Manu Bay at 5.30am and my last heat of the day was at 5.30pm, just as it was getting dark. The second day the wind was blowing from the wrong direction which made the water quite choppy and the conditions tricky. The work that I have been putting into being patient and waiting for the high scoring waves paid off. I was stoked to win both the U16 and U14 girls divisions.

Interesting places

For a day trip I went about 7km out of New Plymouth to compete in a competition called ‘Get to Go’. Get to Go is a challenge made up of 4 tasks: building a raft, orienteering, mountain biking and a mental task. Our team was made up of 7 people and we did the best at the mental task. The orienteering probably needed some work. The mountain biking was really fun with some steep hills that were hard to get up but super fast to come down and there was mud everywhere.

Breakers Restaurant visit

I popped into Breakers on my way to Raglan, while my dad went searching for Jandle’s in the middle of winter, if he thinks he’s going to find them at this time of year he’s mad! I had a blast giving away some spot prizes and meeting some really cool people. The Hamilton team were fantastic. There were 6 lucky members that won gift cards, 20 people that won towels and everyone at least got a pen or magnet. I had a Chicken Tender Burger for lunch which was absolutely delicious. Thanks Breakers, Hamilton for having me for this fun day.

Every pro was once an amateur.
Every expert was once a beginner.
So dream big.
And start now.

Out and about

After we went for a training session with Chris from Taranaki Strength at Stent Road, we decided to go for a surf at Rocky Point, which has a left and right hand break. Rocky Point is about a 30 minute drive from New Plymouth and we decided to surf the left. On this day it was about 3 to 4 foot. It was fun because we didn’t have to take o on the big alfredos rook as it was a king high tide and It was really fun as we had the waves to ourselves.

Local Competition

For my local comp in Taranaki, event 2 of the Perfect Wave Super 8 Series had to be called o as it wasn’t the best conditions for it, so sadly they postponed it to the 4th of August. That weekend I made it to the U18 and Open Women’s  nals. In the U18  nal I got 3rd , in the Open Woman’s I came 1st. and I made it to the quarter nals for the Open Mens. The conditions were super clean it was a fun day.

In the News

The unprecedented Whale strandings is a very sad thing. 11 Sperm Whales ended up being washed up near the Kaupokonui River mouth in South Taranaki. 8 of the Whales had been discovered on the 24 th of May 2018 and the rest were found 3 days later on the 27 th of May. It is unclear how the Whales died and it is a mystery that may never be solved. All of the Whales were male and it had been named as a Batchelor pod. There has been a lot happening in the water from seismic testing to undersea iron sand mining which the project targeted to remove 50 million tonnes of material a year over 25 years. Maybe some of these things have had some in uence on this happening. Hopefully this won’t happen again.

Every morning you have two choices. To continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up early and chase your dreams….

Hi, I’m Natasha, I’m 13 years old from Taranaki, New Zealand. I was totally hooked on surfing from the moment I had my first ever surf when I was 9 at Waitarere Beach near Levin.

My highlights of surfing so far have been winning the Year 7/8 girls division at the National Primary Schools, the overall U14 title for the 2018 Billabong Grom Series and the U12 Ripcurl Grom Search. Another highlight was being awarded the Adam Clegg Memorial Trophy for most improved surfer in the U16 division by New Plymouth Surf Boardriders. When I’m not out surfing I really enjoy chillin by playing the guitar, playing board games with my family and spending time with my dog Inca and cat Fizz. I’m working really hard at the moment towards becoming stronger, improving my technique and being selected for the Taranaki Scholastics team.

Competing in the Occy Grom Comp 2018

This was my very first time overseas and my first time competing internationally. As I was travelling on my own I was pretty nervous but once I was with my host family the nerves settled down. The competition I was travelling to, was the Billabong Occy Grom Comp on the Gold Coast in Australia.

On the day of my heat I got up at 5:30am to a beautiful sunrise and headed down to Duranbah Beach early to warm up before my heat starting just after 8am. Going into the water I felt really excited. The 3ft waves were super fun and I was stoked to get 2nd place and progress through to the quarter finals. I then had a 3 hour wait until my next heat where the conditions deteriorated and became a bit more challenging as the wind had picked up but I still felt fizzing to get out and compete again. But unfortunately I couldn’t quite get the score I needed to progress through to the semi-final.
I was a little disappointed to not go further in the comp but it’s been an incredible opportunity to surf with so many of the world’s best Groms. One thing I’ve taken away from this competition is the need to do further work on my wave selection so that I get higher scores.

Training

I have been waking up on the Gold Coast early to a beautiful warm day and after a good breakfast heading straight out for a surf at one of the many amazing beaches nearby. I was shocked at how warm the water was compared to the winter temperatures back home! After the surf, I’ve had some awesome opportunities to be a typical tourist.

Highlights of the trip

Apart from competing at the Occy Grom Comp, one of my biggest highlights of the trip was surfing at Snappers, meeting and catching some waves with Mick Fanning! Thanks to everyone who supported me on this trip – I can’t wait until the next one!!