CHELSEA TUACH has created more history for Barbados in surfing while fulfilling a personal dream.
The teen sensation is now the first Barbadian surfer to end the season at the top of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) North American junior female rankings.
It has been a remarkable year for the 17-year-old Tuach.
Not only did she win Barbados’ first medal at the ISA World Junior SurfingChampionships, which is regarded as the “Olympics” of junior surfing, in Nicaragua in May, but she has qualified for next month’s prestigious annual ASP Junior World Championships in Brazil.
This invitation-only event, to be held at the Joaquina Beach in Floripa from October 29 to November 5, brings together the top junior surfers, six males and two females, from the five ASP regions – North America, Hawaii, Europe, Australasia and Africa.
“This is a dream come true for me and what I have been working towards all year.
“I am grateful for this blessing and for the support of my coaches, Mike Lamm and Jim Hogan, and my sponsors, Roxy, Red Bull, Dragon and Dakine,” an elated Tuach said in an interview with Bobby Shadley, ASP media manager.
Tuach also said she was excited to be able to improve on her surfing to a stage where she can compete successfully against the girls on the international level.
“I watched the ASP World Juniors last year, and the level was so high that it inspired me to really work hard and better my surfing so that for this year I would be ready to compete with the best juniors and hopefully get a great result in Brazil,” Tuach said.
“It’s an honour for me to represent my little island whenever I travel overseas and show everyone that we do have a lot of talented up and coming surfers and we are starting to make our mark in the surfing world.
“Coming from Barbados to compete is definitely different, having to deal with wetsuits and crowded waves, but its an eye-opener and a great experience going up against so many more talented girls as we only have a few in Barbados,” she added.
Tuach is beginning to launch a campaign on the Women’s ASP Qualifying Series and hopes to carry the confidence from her regional success over to her international campaign.
“Winning the North American Junior Series was definitely a step in the right direction, it gave me a lot of confidence going into the QS events and I was excited to see how I compare at a higher level and how much further I have to go,” she said. (EZS)
