KZN South Coast local Sarah Baum has kicked off her 2013 qualifying campaign with a solid result at the 6-star Breaka Burleigh Pro, held at the legendary Burleigh Heads on the Aussie Gold Coast. Her quarter final placing sees the ripping goofyfoot stride to 5th place on the world qualifying series after the first event, which is a good start – something Sarah has been focussing on since admitting that a slow start may be the reason her two previous campaigns came up just short (Sarah was about one heat away from qualifying for the 2012 world tour in her 2011 campaign – Ed).
We dropped in on Sarah shortly after the result to get her thoughts on her fast start to 2013;
ZAG: Howzit Sarah, congrats on your result at the Breaka Burleigh Pro. You stoked with that start to the year?
Sarah: Ha, thanks so much, I’m most definitely stoked on a 5th to start off the year.
Where are you off to next on your qualifying campaign?
I just drove down from the Goldy to Newcastle for a 6-Star that starts on Monday.
You’ve come close to qualifying before, what important lessons have you learnt from your previous campaigns?
Definitely getting a few good results early in the year and not leaving it to the last events. That is probably one of the things I did the last two years which didn’t really work out.
Have you made any refinements to your equipment and training? What are you currently riding and do you have any special workout secrets?
Over the holidays I had some pretty big changes – I am now riding Al Merricks, which have been going amazing and I just starting training with Gary Freeman, who has helped me in so many ways. We have just been training and surfing heats everyday, and just eating right and being healthy I guess.
Sarah has a bag full of tricks that makes her a feared competitor.
How are you feeling about your chances of qualifying this year?
Well, I am way more hungry than I have been the last two years, my boards are going amazing and I feel a lot more confident, so this year should be good.
What’s rad about women’s surfing in 2013, and what is not so rad?
Every year women’s surfing just gets better and better. There are so many younger girls also coming on tour now, so it’s cool to see them and see where womens surfing is heading. The not so rad thing is that there are hardly any qualifying events for us.
It’s not easy traveling the world and staying focussed on the task for months on end. Do you travel with anyone in particular who helps you to keep your eye on your goals?
I travel mostly with Faye Zoetmulder, Philippa Anderson and Bianca Buitendag, as well as our Roxy team manager Mathias. They all help me a lot with staying focused on what I am doing. We all surf and train together, so it’s so cool to have someone there always pushing you.
Putting her vicious backhand through its paces in the Mentawais.
Which event are you most looking forward to in 2013?
Probably the Swatch Pro in France in August – We always get such waves at that event and we get looked after so well.
Well, we’re all stoked you kicked of 2013 with a good result and we look forward to seeing how you smash the rest of the tour. Any last shout-outs?
Just thanks to everyone for all the support…
