Searching for surfing talent

Sasha Stocker from Surfing Australia gives instruction to some young local surfers at a workshop held in Bulli last week.

SURFING Australia's High Performance Centre Head Coach, Sasha Stocker has branded the Illawarra as a “hotbed of surfing talent.”

Mr Stocker was in the area last week as part of Surfing Australia's Coastalwatch National Talent Search Program.

The program was designed to give young surfers a chance to hone their skills and perhaps be handpicked as one of the nation's best young wave riders.

The nationwide initiative is also a way of discovering and developing surfing talent throughout regional areas while providing support and direction to those with potential.

Mr Stocker ran a program for local board riders last Thursday and Friday and said he was impressed by what he saw.

“I've been here for a day and a half and what I've seen already . . .looking at some of the young grommies, there's some fantastic talent,” he said.

According to Mr Stocker, the workshops are an entry-level program for learning advanced surfing skills, and regional surfers who really impress through their participation in the program could be offered a place in a higher level training and support program.

“If we uncover some amazing talent there's a good chance they may be part of the level two program,” he said.

While the young men and women did get plenty of chances to surf in the workshops they were also required to perform a surf-specific fitness evaluation.

Participants also spent some time learning the finer points of how to better read the surf and understand conditions.

Wollongong is the 7th area the Coastalwatch National Talent Search Program has visited, after running camps in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and NSW in recent months.

Around 30 young people attended the program last week, with a strong showing of surfers from Wollongong's northern suburbs.

The program took place in Bulli, and also involved local surfing coaches.