Top 3 finish for Year 11 student, Estella Hungerford.

Estella competed at the Secondary School National Championships at Makarori Beach, Gisborne, 9-13 October

With a long-held passion for surfing, she was up against girls from all over the country. Her heats were 'tough' so she tried to relax more as she entered the semis and finals, eventually finishing 3rd, which she was pleased with.

Earlier in the year and in preparation, her surf club, North Wai selected their top 10 U16 surfers to travel to the Hurley Institute of High Performance Surfing in Coolangatta , Australia.

A 3-day course of video-analysis, movement sessions, gym work and skateboarding helped her learn a lot about her technique and how to prepare "like a professional" for competition

Her aspiration in surfing is to compete and win the U16 Girls Competition at Nationals in Gisborne in January. In the meantime, her focus is NCEA Level 1 endorsed with Excellence for the remainder of this year.