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!!
