Teen quits college for class on the waves
Tiana-Breeze de Mooij was given a choice towards the end of last year — stay in college or join the World Surf League qualifying series (QS) as a full-time athlete.
The 17-year-old from Mt Maunganui chose the latter.
“It was a pretty big commitment, but I thought what’s better — surfing or school?” she told the Herald on Sunday.
“It was a pretty easy decision for me. I had the opportunity come up, so I just said I’m going to go for it, for sure.”
She was influenced in her decision by sponsor and extreme sports pioneer AJ Hackett, who de Mooij said was “pretty persuasive”.
The youngest of the full-time Kiwis on the women’s QS already has her 2018 campaign under way, competing in the QS6000 Florida Pro in mid-January. De Mooij won her opening heat in the competition before being eliminated in round two.
De Mooij travelled for the competition with fellow Kiwi and World Tour surfer Paige Hareb, and said she learned a lot from spending time with the tour veteran.
“She’s such a cool girl. We got on real well and learning from her was awesome. Just seeing what she was doing before heats, her mindset, what she was eating — stuff like that.”
The appearance in Florida was one of what will likely be very few in QS6000 competitions this year.
Entries into the QS events are based on rankings. And with most competitions starting in a round of 89 — a top 90 position is often needed to qualify. She has already missed out on a spot in the QS6000 in Newcastle, Australia next month and didn’t have high hopes of landing a spot in the competition in Manly which follows.
De Mooij will likely spend 2018 plugging away in the lesser events — the QS1000s, 1500s and 3000s — to accumulate enough points to achieve her goal of a top-100 finish for the year.
Outside of the QS, de Mooij is eyeing a spot in the New Zealand team to take part in the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Games this year.
With the ISA competition part of the proposed Olympic qualification criteria, de Mooij said it made her want to achieve that goal even more.
“I’m definitely looking into the Olympics; that would be amazing.”
I feel good on the bike . . . I just feel at home doing it again. It is nothing different for me even though I am a little bit older.
Three-time World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss