On a break: Less is Moore
After a decade competing at the highest level of her sport, Carissa Moore decided to take a step back in 2020.
The reigning world champion surfer has taken the year off competing on the World Surf League Championship Tour to reconnect and refocus.
With the season set to get into full swing, the 27-year-old Hawaiian has committed to surfing only three events so far this year — the Tokyo Olympics in July, the Sydney Surf Pro at the start of next month and the Piha Pro in mid-March.
Speaking to the Herald on Sunday, Moore explained her decision to take the year off competing on the Championship Tour despite winning the world title in 2019.
“Competing on the
Championship Tour, you’re competing against the best girls in the world at the best spots in the world,” said Moore. “If you’re not giving 100 per cent at every event . . . at least for me, at every event I compete in on this tour, I give 100 per cent, otherwise what’s the point?
“It is [mentally draining]. I was thinking about this past year and it was more than just a year’s journey; it was a year-and-a-half’s journey to win the world title and it was literally every day — that’s what I was working towards. You don’t ever really get a day off.
“Obviously I really enjoy it; I love working hard and seeing it pay off, it’s fulfilling and satisfying for me, but it is a lot of work. Losing isn’t easy, the ups and downs and emotions that come with competitions, that part isn’t easy.
“It’s one of the best lifestyles in the world and one of the best jobs in the world, so I don’t want to seem like I’m not grateful because I definitely am.
“I just think it’s important to realise when you need to take a break and reconnect, so the time off will give me a new appreciation and perspective on just how awesome my life is.”
Moore will return to New Zealand next month with fond memories, having won her first title as a full-time athlete on the Championship Tour at Taranaki’s Fitzroy Beach in her rookie year. As well as winning the event in 2010, Moore placed second twice and fifth once before the stop was moved from the Championship Tour to the qualifying series.
The four-time world champion said the decision to take part in the Sydney Surf Pro and Piha Pro was about getting work in on beach breaks with the potential to be small in size, as it’s likely surfing will be held in similar conditions during the Olympics.
The two events are part of the new world Surf League Challenger Series, which is made up of the major stops of the qualifying series and provides the best route for athletes to earn qualification points for the next year’s Championship Tour.
There are four stops on the women’s Challenger Series this year,
but Moore said she didn’t “have a grand plan to do all of them”.
“I just thought that this would be a really good opportunity to stay competitive. It’s super important to gain some experience and figure out how to look at the wave a little bit different and maintain that enthusiasm and speed and all that kind of stuff. It’s a different kind of attack, so hopefully it’ll be great for my experience and learning how to surf those kinds of waves a bit better.”
Although she has taken the year off the main tour, Moore will have plenty to keep her busy between her personal and professional life, including working on her charitable foundation, Moore Aloha.
Moore established the foundation to empower young females through the sport to be strong, confident and compassionate individuals.
“Right now, it’s really small; it’s really just me, my dad and my husband, so I’ve been taking a lot of that on myself,” Moore said of her foundation.
“Performance-wise, I’d love to find time to go on a few really fun trips and surf good waves and try to work on improving some different aspects of my surfing.
“I think it’s a really good time for me to do some stuff I haven’t had a chance to do.
“As silly as it sounds, I really want to take a ceramics class and I’d love to learn how to play a song on the ukulele; spending time with my family, being a good wife, getting in a routine at home which I don’t normally get to get into — so a lot of different things.
“I think it will be a big year of growth for me, especially since I’m so used to competing and being in the routine of having a few months off and being on the tour most of the year. It’s a challenge in itself to kind of wrap my head around that and check out from the tour.”
Moore is one of a number of big names to be making the trip for the inaugural Piha Pro. Former world champions Kelly Slater and Adriano de Souza will compete in the men’s field, Bethany Hamilton will take part in the women’s competition and more top-tier talents are expected to be announced for both line-ups in the coming weeks.