Meet U18 English Surf Champion, 17 year old Tilly from Cornwall.
Bio:
I live in Ponsanooth and my nearest town that I hang out in is Falmouth.
I’ve been surfing for 7 years, regular foot
Quiver: 5’8, 5’9, 5’6
Sponsors: Reckless Outerwear, Nusa Swimwear and I’ve just met with Jon Issacs from Quiver to become one of their team riders.
What made me learn to surf:
I grew up involved with Surf Life Saving competing and training on the beach with friends from around 7 yrs old and I always loved the sea. Playing on the boards in the surf was fantastic and I wanted to do more. I got involved with Gwithian Academy of Surf every Saturday morning and from there learnt new skills in surfing and just started doing more and more.
My plans for 2017:
This year I really want to push my surfing, I’ve now started some new coaching with Global Boarders and this has really helped and I’ve met some really lovely new friends aswell. I have made it onto the England Selection squad for the Euro championships in Japan later this year so I really want to train hard and enjoy every completion with a hope of making the cut for the final 2 girls that will represent England in the squad. I would also love to win the British title again.
Competitions:
I try and enter as many competitions as I can because I love surfing against all the other girls and it makes me push myself in every condition.
My favourite wave:
My favourite wave is Kandooma Right in the Maldives, it’s a really long shallow wave that doesn’t get too busy!
What I do:
I am at Truro College studying photography so I find that surfing and my studying go well together as I have taken loads of great shots on all of the fab surf destinations I have visited. I am using a lot of these shots in my final piece this year which is great.
Alana Blanchard, Laura Enever, Tia Blanco & Stephanie Gilmore.
My favourite WSL surfer:
Laura Enever, she rips and her energy is contagious.
How often do you surf a week:
I try and surf most days somewhere either before college or after, in the winter though it tends to just be at weekends.
Surfing:
Girls should learn to surf because it’s the best adrenalin rush ever. It also keeps you super fit and you get to meet some really cool people from all over the world.
Wake up really early to sunshine shining through my curtains, find an empty pumping break and surf in the early light. Breakfast with friends to talk about the day and then head to a different beach for another surf. Sunset and beach barbeque to finish feeling salty and sun baked.
I think the best thing about surfing is how free you feel, you can try new things on waves and there really are no rules – sometimes they work sometimes they don’t!!
