World event was an 'amazing experience'

NORTH DEVON surfing trio Laura Crane, Lucy Campbell and Beau Bromham arrived home from the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship this week.

The youngsters were part of the Great Britain team competing in New Zealand.

Lineup caught up with two very jetlagged but happy girls as life begins to return to normal.

Laura, from Georgeham, said: "It was an amazing experience. We met so many new friends and surfed some great, solid waves.

"But I did snap my board for the first time. It was my favourite board, but my standby 5ft 7in turned out to be my dream board!

"The waves at the beginning of the contest were really big, like 5ft to 7ft, and it was really rippy and hard work."

Croyde's Alex Baker finished 25th and Beau 46th, with Lucy 41st and Laura 49th. Both girls got really stacked heats and the repechage rounds were no easier.

Woolacombe's Lucy said: "I had really hard heats, but all the practice we with did with Micha Lester, the team coach, really helped us perform better.

"It was really inspirational to see the standard of some of the other competitors. The whole event has improved my surfing and pushed what I think I'm capable of."

Under-18 girls winner Tyler Wright, from Australia, stood out for Lucy.

"She was amazing to watch," she said. "She was surfing better and posting higher scores than the boys at the start of the comp."

Laura added: "It was good to compare ourselves to the other girls there and then to see how hard we could push ourselves."

One of the highlights of the trip for both girls was seeing a Maori haka performed during the opening ceremony held at Mission Bay, Auckland.

"It was really intimidating, they did scary faces and came right up with their spears," said Laura.

Lucy added: "The haka was great but I think my favourite was Kitekite Falls behind Piha Beach. I ran there and back every day as I wanted to keep my running training going while I was out there."

As well as being one of the country's top young surfers, Lucy is also a great cross country runner and this weekend sees her straight back into action at the South West Schools Championships.

"I'll be running lots this year and it will be a tough call if there are any date clashes with surf contests," she said.

"I want to compete in all the British tour events and as many others as I can fit in, maybe even a couple of the European pro-juniors if I'm able.

"The training and contest experience the event has given me is a good start to the surfing season.

"I would love to get to the next Championships and hope my performances at the coming contests will give me that chance.

"Thanks to the GB team and the British Surfing Association crew for looking after us so well."

Laura also had a special mention for the BSA team of Jo Hillman, Mike Young and Lester.

"Jo and Mike were great and Micha taught us so much and really helped us to focus, he was down at the water's edge getting us amped for our heats," she said.

"I can't wait to do more team training as the year progresses. I want to surf as many contests as I can and just push myself to surf better. Our first event is scheduled to be the British Schools at the beginning of April."

The girls are now back at school at Braunton Community College which has supported them through a life-enhancing experience. One final surprise remained for Lucy on arrival back in Devon. She was awarded the Croyde Surf Club ladies and under-14 titles for 2009. The results were announced at the club's annual meeting last week.

Bromham took the under-18s title with Jack Hough winning the boys under-14s. The hotly-contested seniors prize went to Lyndon Wake, rewarding his consistent performances.