Chelsea on the podium having taken another first in a surfing competition. photo (c)WSL/Poullenot (Damien Poullenot)

AT THE end of the 2015 World Surf League season Chelsea Tuach became the first Caribbean surfer ever to qualify for the Championship Tour. Her achievements are due to years of hard work and the fact that she has the support of a family which has always encouraged her to pursue her sporting dreams. 

Her success has drawn plaudits from around the world and much praise from her country’s own politicians. At the end of last year she won the award of 2015 Surfer of the Year, the first Caribbean female surfer to win this honour at the ESeMMY Awards.

In this exclusive interview Chelsea talks to us about her love the sport as well as what it’s like to have attracted so much worldwide attention for her prowess on the waves. Read on to hear about the effect her family has had on her success as well as her exciting plans for the year ahead.

To find out more about Chelsea and to learn about some of her other accomplishments visit www.chelseatuach.com.

When were you first introduced to surfing and how did where you grew up and those around you help you to engage you with the sport?

I started surfing when I was seven years old. My older brothers were both good surfers and I always wanted to do whatever they were doing. So I had a few surf lessons just before my 8th birthday and started surfing with my brothers and competing in local contests a few months later.

I won my first contest at Maycock’s in January 2005 when I was nine. The waves were really big that day and I was a little scared but I wanted to show how brave I could be and dropped a really big wave which I rode all the way to the shore. Everyone was clapping and cheering for me on the beach and that inspired me to continue to compete and be the very best surfer that I could be.

What is it about surfing that you love so much?

I love to be in the water, it makes me feel so free and in tune with nature and I love the challenge of competing, of pushing my limits and matching my ability against the best surfers in the world.

Could you tell us about some of the early successes you had and what was it like competing at such a young age?

When I was 14 I won my first Women’s Pro event in Cocoa Beach, Florida in September, 2010. I had gone to compete in the junior event, but a friend, Alan Burke, persuaded me to enter the women’s event instead as it was far more prestigious. I was nervous as my parents had spent a lot of money to send me to the contest and I wanted to come home with a trophy. But my mum encouraged me to accept the challenge and I pulled out of the junior event to do compete against some of the top female surfers from the US. When I ended up winning the event, it gave me the confidence that I could compete against the best and I just wanted to keep competing, to see how far I could go with my surfing.

Chelsea started surfing at seven years old having been encouraged by her brothers and mum. (c)WSL/Poullenot (Damien Poullenot)

You’ve been recognised several times in Barbados for your achievements – how does it feel to be thought so highly of by those in your own country?

It means the world to me. I am very grateful for the support that I have received and the awards that I have won over the years. As I start this new chapter of my career, surfing against the top 17 women in the world, I just want to keep making my country proud and hope to encourage other aspiring athletes to follow their dreams.

Where has the sport taken you abroad and what have been some of the highlights?

I started surfing when I was 8 and was fortunate to start travelling at age ten when I participated in the International Surfing Association’s World Junior Surfing Championshios in Maresias, Brazil in 2006, as the youngest surfer ever to be selected for a National Surf Team.

I won my first Pro event when I was 14 years old in Cocoa Beach Florida and that gave me belief in my ability.

I relocated to California in 2012 and started competing on the Association of Surfing Professionals’ (ASP)Junior Pro Circuit in 2013, taking out the overall Junior Series Championship for North America that year after posting two wins – in Cocoa Beach, Florida in March and at the Soup Bowl Pro in Barbados in November. This enabled me to qualify for the ASP World Junior Surfing Championships which is open only to the two top surfers from each of the seven ASP regions – North America, South America, Hawaii, Australasia, Africa, Europe and Japan. I made it to the semis and ended third overall at these Championships – the best result ever of a Caribbean surfer.

I again qualified for the Junior World Championships in 2014 and again ended third overall in Ericeira, Portugal. I qualified for a third consecutive year in 2015 for the World Junior Championships, now under the uspices of the World Surf League (formerly the ASP)and I ended ninth at that event.

I started competing on the World Qualification Series in 2014, ending 24th after surfing against over 200 of the world’s top female professional surfers. The 2015 was an amazing year for me as I rose to number four in the world after placing third at the WSL 6000 event in China in January, third at the WSL 1000 event in Merewether, NSW, Australia in February, fifth at the WSL 6000 event held at Oceanside, California in July and I took out my first WSL Qualification win at the WSL 6000 event held in Galicia, Spain – the Pantin Pro Classic.

These results enabled me to become the first surfer from the Caribbean region to qualify for the WSL World Championship Tour which is only open to the top 16 surfers in the world.

Proud of her heritage Chelsea celebrates her surfing success with her country’s flag. (c)WSL/Poullenot (Damien Poullenot)

How did it feel to win the National Kidney Foundation Women’s Pro at age 14 becoming the first Barbadian to win the event outside of the Caribbean?

As I mentioned earlier, that event gave me the confidence to pursue my dream of becoming a professional surfer one day. I actually returned to Cocoa Beach the following year to compete in the same event (in September 2011) and it felt awesome to take the win again. The following year I won the Roxy Women’s Pro at the same venue and a year later, in March 2013, I became the first Barbadian surfer to win an ASP Junior Pro event. So I definitely have very fond memories of Cocoa Beach!

What are you other interests outside of surfing and how do you most like to spend your free time?

I have a really special group of friends, so when I am not surfing I like to spend time with them. I am also studying Nutrition online. That brings balance to my life and what I learn in my studies I can apply to help make me the best athlete that I can be.

Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of the year and beyond?

2016 will be a very exciting year for me as I start to compete on the World Surf League’s World Championshp Tour, at the very highest level of my sport. My goals are to train hard with my coach, push my surfing as far as I can, finish the year in the top 10 and win Rookie of the Year. I hope to make my sponsors and my country proud and inspire young Caribbean athletes to believe in themselves and fight for their dreams!