Subway Pro Junior and wild surfing

It’s not a sprint – it’s a marathon! Actually, it’s an ultra run!!!

Surfing in my first pro junior event (Subway pro junior) helped me realise how long the road is to being a professional surfer! It was a great experience – especially starting off in my local area at Duranbah on the Gold Coast.

I did better than expected in my first round, getting one of the highest heat score totals, then bombed out in the second round as the conditions deteriorated. It was clear that the best, most experienced surfers could adjust to the conditions and get the most out of the small, sketchy waves. They also knew how to deal with the priority system – using their place in line to make the best decisions on what waves to take.

It was a great atmosphere both in and out of the water – with my grandmother and coach coming along to watch and many friends supporting me.

With ultra running, I get the feeling that you have to enjoy the process to keep going through to the end…that’s what I feel like with surfing.

On the weekend we went exploring to search for uncrowded waves, first stopping in an area where there are many shark attacks and when I heard that we will be surfing there, I immediately said “Nope I’m not going out, no” without even seeing the conditions . We arrived and I watched it for a bit and thought, if I don’t do this, I might go to Hawaii one day and doubt myself by thinking it’s something that it isn’t… I should go out. So by conquering fears of sharks and surfing unfamiliar places, I learnt that it’s what happens in your mind that changes your perspective on the situation, like if there was no sharks in the ocean then our ecosystem would collapse and knowing that there is a higher chance to die on the way to the surf than in the surf.

After that we went further south, meeting up with good friends. They showed us some amazing and wild breaks where we had so walk 30mins to reach because of the tides, I made a video of our adventure (http://youtu.be/fbmRVtRecG4) We got so much positive energy from these wild, sacred places – so much stoke! I’ve learnt that real surfing isn’t about dodging people in the crowed line up, it’s surfing a wild and isolated break and being able to handle it in your mind… But bring a friend and your mum to look out for you! 😂