My love of the ocean began before I can remember. I was surfing with Dad before I could swim, snorkelling around the headlands and started nippers in U7, initially to help build my paddling strength on a surfboard. I’ve been competing in surf sports since I was 11. In 2024, when I was 13 and still in Under 14s, my coach Martin Cowper (Marty) decided I needed to learn how to paddle a surf ski. Marty believes it takes at least two years to become comfortable in a ski, and because I wouldn’t be allowed to race one until Under 17s, he decided the next best thing was a sprint kayak. A sprint kayak is a long, narrow and highly unstable boat that is paddled in a straight line on a flatwater course. After several weeks of swimming the boat back to shore and becoming highly skilled at emptying it out, I eventually got the hang of paddling it. When I find something I can’t do, I become fixated on it. I want to understand it, improve it and eventually master it. That’s exactly what happened the first time I fell out of a kayak. Kayaking quickly became an obsession, and for the past few years all I could think about was getting back into a kayak and getting better. By the time I reached Under 17s and was ready to race a ski in the surf, I was already the U16 Female National Sprint Kayak Champion in the 200m, 500m and 1000m, and had represented Australia at the Asia Pacific Championships in Japan. Sprint kayaking has taught me a huge amount about discipline, persistence and pushing through the moments when things don’t come easily.

Sport has shaped who I am and given me so many valuable experiences, friendships and lessons that go well beyond competition. My goal now is to keep challenging myself on the surf ski, combine the skills I’ve developed through sprint kayaking with my love of the ocean, and see how far I can take my paddling. More than anything, I want to keep learning, keep improving and make the most of every opportunity that sport gives me.