South Island Camp Attendee, Jack McKenzie
Courtesy of PhotoCPL
After a long wait, the first of two junior development camps for New Zealand’s top young surfers get underway in the South Island this weekend. New Brighton, Christchurch will play host to over thirty of the South Island’s top surfers with attendees coming from as far away as Westport, Dunedin and Kaikoura. The development camps have been supported by the New Zealand Olympic Committee via the Olympic Solidarity Fund. This has helped break barriers including travel logistics and cost to allow juniors in both the North and South Island the opportunity to train and work with high performance coaches.
With surfers selected from all junior categories (Under 14, 16 & 18), the camp is stacked with talent. Poppie Entwisle, Amelie Wink, Jack Tyro, Myka Black, and Jack McKenzie are just some of the thirty surfers attending this weekend. The South Island development camp promises to provide a challenging and exciting environment, putting southern junior surfers through their paces in a fun supportive camp. “We are looking forward to seeing how the participants react to things they won’t have experienced before” said South Island Representative on the Surfing New Zealand Board, Russell Ritchie.
Following on from the South Island camp and after several Covid delays, North Island surfers will descend on Pauanui in the Coromandel on the 27th of November for the North Island’s Junior development Camp. Alani Morse, Ezekiel Wyper, Natasha Gouldsbury and Navyrn Malone are some of the 30 top junior surfers attending the camp.
South Island Surfer Jack Tyro Image Courtesy of PhotoCPL
With surfing now confirmed as part of the Olympic family through to Paris 2024, new opportunities are arising for those choosing to pursue a competitive surfing career. Surfing New Zealand is developing a high performance programme. The initiative coincides with High Performance New Zealand’s new ‘Aspirational Sports Fund’ that is available to the sport.
The junior development camps are held over two days and attendees will participate in video analysis, surf skate sessions, and develop a framework that they can incorporate into their daily routines, developing a pathway to success.
