PRO-Files
Nikki How is it staying at the Rip Curl house? It’s pretty amazing. We’ve got Off the Wall and Backdoor, and Pipe. It’s amazing and I’m so happy. Tell me about winning the Junior World Title, which you just claimed in Bali: It was such an amazing time. To be World Champion is like my dream and it has been for so long. I guess it didn’t sink in for a few weeks until I got home and I was doing my exams and was like “wait, I should be…” It’s just hard to come home and go to my school exams. It was amazing and I had really good boards and was on a roll, so everything was perfect. The waves were amazing. Definitely a week to remember for me. You’re from Phillip Island (Australia), is it strange after all the travel and competing to return to life in such a small place? It’s definitely small and secluded from everywhere else. Like if movies come out in the city, a few months later we’ll get them. It’s a country town. I just love coming home though. The community is amazing and my family and friends… I dunno, home for everyone is just the most amazing place. I love going home, even though it’s zero degrees in winter. In winter it’s like booties, 4’3, hood, gloves. Then in summer it’s still a short arm wetsuit all the time, so it never really gets like bikini weather here. What do you miss from home when you’re away from Australia? Vegemite, um no, I miss my bed. I miss my family, my dog and my friends. I dunno, I guess I miss the food. The thing is I’m so comfortable, I know what I eat and I know where it is in the supermarket. But I mean traveling is amazing and I can’t complain so yeah, it’s all good. Where do you want to visit that you haven’t been to yet? I’d love to go 154 | womenssurfstyle.com | wSSm
Van Dijk
to Japan and I’d love to go the Mentawais. I’ve been to a lot of places, but I’d love to go to the Mentawais. Plans for next year now you have the Junior World Title in the bag? What’s your next goal? My next goal is to qualify for the World Tour. This year I did all the QS (Qualifying Series) and I missed out by three spots. I learnt so much and that’s what my goal was at the start of the year. Just to have one more year of experience, learn the waves and what happens on the QS. So 2013 I’m definitely going to try and qualify and put every effort into doing that! Was it a hard hit missing out by three spots? Yeah. At the start of the year I got a really good result and I put too much pressure on myself. I just did that so I could keep going. It was senior (12th) year for me and I had so many things going on. But I’m young and I’m just loving what I’m doing right now. I just turned 18 last week, woohoo!!! But I’m in America/ Hawaii so you can’t do anything until you turn 21. When I go home everyone’s going to take me out celebrate! Being here on the north shore, is it like something out of a movie? You’re staying at the house and you have Pipeline right there? It’s actually just so surreal. Everywhere you go is picturesque and just amazing and beautiful. The colors and the palm trees and everything is so pretty. Any other hopes for the future? Try and qualify and then I guess we’ll see how I go next year. Obviously I’d love to be on the World Tour and try and be World Champion, but I know that’s everyone’s dream. Just enjoy my surfing and get better and I dunno, travel. Just be the best athlete and person I can be. Have fun and enjoy life. F