Surfing a sisterly affair
Family rivalry is making waves at a national surfing competition taking place in Taranaki.
Sisters Natasha and Amanda Gouldsbury have been surfing for five years and two years respectively, and yesterday they were competing at the Health 2000 National Surfing Championships, off the coast of Paora Rd, between Okato and Warea.
‘‘We’re just wanting to be better than each other,’’ Amanda, 12, said.
‘‘And I think that’s stayed the same. Anything we do it’s a competition,’’ Natasha, 14, added.
The sisters, whose family moved from Levin to New Plymouth for their surfing careers, are among 25 family pairs competing in the event.
Usually the girls do not compete against each other because of their ages, with Amanda in the Under 14s events and Natasha competing in the Under 16s.
‘‘Our age has separated us a little bit,’’ Natasha said.
Natasha, who’s preferred surfing spot is in Waitara, was previously named the number one under 14 surfer in New Zealand.
She said she was enjoying the large waves as she competed in her heats yesterday, but her younger sister wasn’t so keen.
And Amanda was on the fence about how she felt with her performance in her heat, which took place in challenging conditions.
‘‘I could have done better,’’ she said.
In the end Natasha made it through to the Under 16s final, but while Amanda came third in her first heat for the Under 14s she will not be progressing further.
Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings said the day’s conditions were at times hard for the younger surfers, with the waves a bit on the big side, but just about manageable.
‘‘We had a couple of the younger kids pull out,’’ he said.
Kennings said it was common for families to compete against each other in these events.
‘‘Because it goes from under 14s to over 60s we get lots of family competition in it,’’ he said.