Aspects of her role in the surfing industry:
- Write business and development plans (for example for an officiating role in surfing comp, new judging levels and for junior development).
- Formulate timetables in three codes of surfing.
- Develop funding and sponsorship opportunities.
- Judging (in particular state and junior comps).
- Working with the junior state team on development and implementation of programs, coaching, mentoring and competition.
Skills needed:
- Communication skills are really key. I spent six days at the Margaret River Masters talking to people, networking and getting to know people. Both written and verbal communication skills are important.
- Good knowledge base about competition. I need to know the codes and levels as well as the content of the competition as well as how competitions are run.
- People skills are important. You have to be friendly and get along with people, especially when networking. You have to be approachable from all sides: kids, their parents, adults, judges, competitors, sponsors, etc.
- Good surfing skills. It is important to know how to surf because it goes to your credibility in the industry.
- Professional presentation. Being on time, being dressed appropriately for the occasion.
Recommendations to students wanting to work in
your field:
Consider the surf science degree. It gave me an understanding of the industry and an inside view of what is going on, and that is really important. It also gave me industry contacts. From the basis in surf science, while I was at uni I went out and used the contacts to my advantage by supplementing my learning with professional development and volunteer work. I have done judging courses and coaching courses, I have volunteered with Surfing WA . It was all in an attempt to learn as much as I can and to get myself seen by the people who are key decision makers in the field.
Be dedicated and professional. You will get work if you are consistent in showing up and are enthusiastic. People notice if you are dedicated and you can earn the respect of your peers and potential employers in the field.
Communication skills are so important. Work on your writing skills and presentation skills. Even though the field is surfing, it is big business and you need to be able be professional and also communicate well. These days in the industry it is important to have a professional attitude and appearance. The industry has changed from when it was just surfers running it. There are all kinds of people involved in the field, The industry itself is becoming more professional.
Why
would you recommend working in this field?
It is a whole bunch of fun. And the opportunities which arise from it are interesting. Travel, meeting interesting people etc. The friends and networks you can develop are amazing.
Why would you recommend ECU South West?
What I really liked about studying at ECU South West is that it was better than being at some uni with thousands of people. We got to know our lecturers and the other people in our year. It is a really nice campus.
What would you like to add?
Because we were the first students to put on a surf comp, we had to convince people we were serious in terms of putting on the comp and that the comp was a good thing. Now it is a standard thing, and it is a cool thing to do to involve the community and in terms of learning and the degree. It gave me an insight into what is required to run a comp, on a much smaller scale. It made me want to get even more involved in surf comps. I learned about every aspect of a competition. I learned about judging, sponsorships, beach marshalling and everything else. In March 2005 I spent time at the Salamon Margaret River Masters to learn the same thing on a huge scale.
Having been through the first group that went through the degree and going through all the controversial publicity, I have to say that the degree is a good thing for the industry and I think it is important to the surfing industry because it is establishes an institutional base for the sport.
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