Maketū's Jayda Bramley has had a consistent year competing on the 2024 New Zealand surfing circuit.

She made every final bar one, and finished in the top five of the under-14 girls Surfing New Zealand rankings.

The Te Puke High School student’s passion for competing has had her travel throughout the North Island from the west coast’s Piha Beach to Gisborne, at various spots on the Coromandel coastline, and at Raglan for the New Zealand secondary schools event held at Manu Bay.

Now, Jayda has been selected to represent the Bay of Plenty in Dunedin where she will compete in the National Scholastic Surfing Championships organised by Surfing New Zealand during the second week of October.

Jayda has been surfing since she was 9 and began competing three years later, after joining Mount Maunganui’s Bay Board Riders Club.

Jayda at Piha Beach.

Highlights for this year include a first equal place in the Billabong Grom series under-14 girls contested over three events, and being crowned under-14 girls champion for the Bay Board Riders club.

She says catching up with New Zealand surfing legend and Olympian Billy Stairmand, fresh off the plane from the Paris Olympics surfing competition held in Tahiti, was also another great moment.

If you ask Jayda what she likes most about competing, she will say: “I love the atmosphere around events and the opportunities to catch up with my friends from all over the country.

“I love surfing and when you are competing you are surfing, so why not have a go.”

Jayda (right) with friends from Whangārei Girls’ High School and New Zealand Olympic surfer Billy Stairmand at Raglan Surfing Academy's New Zealand schools surfing championships.

Coming from a small coastal village has its advantages.

She says living so close to the ocean and having the support of the local Maketū Board Riders means she is blessed with quality surf and lots of positive input from the local surf community.

A perfect day for Jayda is when the swell, wind and tides all come together to provide fun waves at her favourite surf spot, Newdick’s Beach.

Jayda’s goals are to go as far as she can with her surfing while doing her best to stay humble and have lots of fun along the way.

-Te Puke Times.