Occy Grom Comp and Skullcandy Oz Grom Open

Surfing is learning, in so many, many ways. One moment you are speeding along swooping and swerving on the biggest, cleanest wave face, the next moment you are dumped, held under, thrashing and struggling to survive! It’s the best training for life there can be!

And in the surfing journey there are many human teachers too. Lately I’ve been lucky enough to meet and learn from different surf coaches and it has been fascinating to see the subtle differences. Some are all about strategy and your mind game in being able to win those all important competitions – others have a more holistic approach focussing on everything that’s going on with your life, nutrition, exercise and all important mindset! Over the past two weeks, during school holidays, I’ve been competing and I’ve been soul surfing, in the cold rain, in the sun – in perfect waves and in smush, crowded lineups and empty ones, preparing myself for anything and everything, including the Billabong Occy Grom Comp and the Skullcandy Oz Grom Open. There is quite a lot of hype that surrounds these competitions and that did frighten me a bit but I knew I had to push it to the side and surf my best. My favourite part of the international competitions is the joy of supporting all my friends, new and old, through wins and losses…Basically having a blast! I met some boys who were around 12 years old from France, Portugal and England, and who were so funny! Being in the focused atmosphere of a top competition helped me focus on whatever my goal was. It definitely helps when you can stay on track and achieve your goal…whether it’s applying for a job or winning a surf comp, we all need to channel our energy into our vision because anything is possible when you put your mind to it. Most of life’s challenges that I come across is mental. I try and link many solutions from my competition problems to real life issues and I believe that having an automatic plan in your head helps me not freak out when the problem arises. Many times, a good way to calm down is to simply breathe. This is what I have been working on with some coaches over the past couple of weeks so I was ready for everything that involves competition- both winning and losing.

My end result of both of the competitions was equal 5th. I was both happy and disappointed with this number because despite surfing my best, little details just seemed to hold me from reaching the next level. In both competitions I was only a fraction of a score away from progressing! I’m learning from every success and every small mistake – just like I am in life in general. Learning, breathing and being focused on your goals – important ingredients in this life journey!