NEWS | Catching Up With Paul Sampson

Cape Town’s Paul Sampson recently finished second in the first-ever professional surfing event in Robertsport Liberia. The event was part of the newly formed African Surf Tour hosted by the African Surf Confederation in conjunction with the Liberian Surfing Federation with direct support from the President and the respective government department. Six nations were in attendance.

Paul who is about to take on the world over the next few months from Ballito, USA, Portugal and Brazil will now be surfing for his position amongst the top 80 surfers in the world on the World Surf League Challenger Series. We caught up with him shortly after the event:

This was my first trip to Liberia. I loved how welcoming the people were. I felt at home with the way they treated us. The food was good, and the waves and water were nice.

Events like this in Liberia are what the Africa Surf Tour is all about – it was kind of a showcase for Liberia. There’s not as much tourism in Liberia as you’d expect, given its beauty and tropical climate. Coming from different countries to uplift the community here, not just in surfing but in providing opportunities for the kids, was crucial. The tour helps get our names out there and brings attention to Liberian kids, giving them opportunities and putting them on the map.

Paul Sampson at the Africa Surf Tour event in Liberia. (c) Nicole Sweet

The waves were pretty good when we arrived, with a lot of swell and strong rips. I didn’t expect it to be this challenging, to be honest. In my experience, Liberia has some of the best waves in Africa. The warm water, lack of sharks and the variety of waves made it an amazing experience. Surfing in warm water is fantastic compared to Cape Town, where the water is always cold and I’m usually in a wetsuit. Here, I could surf in boardshorts and a thermal, which was a nice change.

The standard in the final was really high. It was myself, Cherif from Senegal, Robert Barrows from Cape Verde and Ismail from Senegal. The final was intense, with everyone dropping good scores. Sharif was on the best waves and won the final. I came second, Barrows third and Ismail fourth. It was a well-surfed final, with a lot of support from the community.

Cherif Fall at the Africa Surf Tour event in Liberia. (c) Nicole Sweet

A lot of people impressed me in the contest, both on the men’s and women’s side of the draw. There was a standout kid from Liberia, I forget his name now, the smallest but ripping the biggest waves. He wasn’t in the final but showed a lot of potential. The girls also performed well under pressure and Deguene Thioune ripped.

Deguene Thioune at the Africa Surf Tour event in Liberia. (c) Nicole Sweet

I’ve made the Challenger Series, so my focus is on qualifying for the tour. I want to make a difference in both men’s and women’s surfing, showing that Africa has talent. I want to see more black and coloured surfers on the Challenger Series or the WSL.

Connecting with the kids and people in Liberia was incredible. This trip was probably the best I’ve ever done. We even met with the president, who acknowledged the impact of the Africa Surf Tour. It’s a significant movement and I’m grateful to be part of it.

I feel that we need to focus on development and providing opportunities for kids to excel in sports like surfing and soccer. There’s a lot of talent here; we just need to activate it and provide the necessary support.

Africa Surf Tour event in Liberia. (c) Nicole Sweet

Personally, aside from the result, I feel like I made a big impact on the kids here. Alongside other athletes from Senegal, Cape Verde and Liberia, we pushed for development and gave them more opportunities. I’m stoked to have been a part of it.