This year for the Noosa Festival of Surfing Hakea sponsored our girl Mia Francis, a local long boarder based in the Northern Rivers. Despite less than perfect conditions on the first day, Mia flew through her heats and made it to the grand final in the Women's Open... we're so proud!
"On arrival the morning of my heat I was greeted with small brown waves and onshore winds — far from perfect conditions for a comp" said Mia.
"Surfing in such poor conditions made it hard for everyone! I was lucky to make it into the quarterfinals which was my favourite day of the comp; they had moved the comp to the sunshine beach and we were surfing over head sets, a challenging shore break and big rips, these conditions made me feel very at home and I was able to get two great scores 5.83 and a 6.83 these scores got me straight through to the final!"
On the outcome of the competition, she said "I don’t mind at all that I got last place in the final. I tried to surf well but just enjoyed the tiny waves and being able to surf a final at first point with only 5 other girls in the water."
Running since 1992, the festival kicked off with a fundraising event by SurfAid where inspiring special guests Layne Beachley, Brooke Farris and Pacha Light came together to talk about “Women in Surfing.” A conversation that reflected on the evolution of women's surfing and their vision for the future - an important part of our mission. We're proud to support a competition who awards equal prize money for all competitors and has a focus on sustainability, offsetting the carbon miles of all competitors.
Images via Beatriz Ryder and Will Hunt