From the farm to the beach: Tweed surfer Zahli Kelly’s off-road path to the world tour

Growing up on a farm an hour from the coast, Zahli Kelly doesn’t have the typical backstory of a pro surfer. But this weekend she starts her quest to qualify for the world tour.

In the world of professional surfing, Zahli Kelly certainly doesn’t have your conventional backstory.

While many of those going around on the various junior and pro tours are the children of keen surfers (and in some cases, surfing royalty), or simply grew up within a stone’s throw of the beach, Kelly is well and truly an outlier.

The 19-year-old has spent her childhood well away from any surf breaks, first growing up in Brisbane before moving to a farm in the tiny town of Pumpenbil in the Tweed Coast hinterland.

Inspired by her older brother, she first tested out the waves at just eight years old while spending weekends at her parents’ holiday house on the Sunshine Coast, before gradually making more road trips to the Gold Coast as she got older.

And while most people hoping to make a career out of surfing migrate to wherever the waves are best, Kelly isn’t perturbed by her one-hour trip to her ‘local’ break of Cabarita.

“I’ve always been used to driving to the beach to surf, because up until I was 10 or 11 we’d lived in Brisbane, so if you wanted to surf you had to drive an hour and a bit,” she said.

“It definitely hasn’t affected my surfing at all.”

Kelly finished second this week at the Gold Coast Pro Junior event. (Photo by Cait Miers/World Surf League)

It’s difficult to argue with the 19-year-old on this point, as this weekend she will kick off her campaign on the WSL Challenger Series with the first event in the six-stop tour taking place at Gold Coast’s iconic Snapper Rocks.

The series is the second tier of world surfing, with the top-10 men and top-five women booking their spots on next year’s coveted Championship Tour (CT).

“I’m really excited. I’m feeling confident in my surfing, a lot more this year than last, and I’m just excited to hopefully get a couple of heats under my belt,” she said.

Kelly has plenty to be confident about, finishing second this week in the WSL Pro Junior event at that very same break.

“I’m happy with my performance. I wish I could have won, obviously, but it’s nice to have made the final and already had a heat out at Snapper before the Challenger starts,” she said.

“When you go for a free surf out at Snapper, you’re surfing with 100, 200 other people. So to just be able to get the line-up with just three other people, even if it’s just for half an hour, is good.”

The 19-year-old grew up on a farm in Pumpenbil, an hour’s drive from the coast in the Tweed hinterland. Photo: WSL/Cait Miers

Indeed, the tour will kick off at another one of Kelly’s ‘local’ breaks, something she hopes will hold her in good stead.

“I surf there usually when there’s a big swell, because that’s usually the only place there is to surf. But I’ve been going there since I was 10, so I’ve definitely clocked up quite a few hours there and I think I know the wave well enough.”

She will be up against a stacked field for the event, with world tour veterans Sally Fitzgibbons, Nikki van Dijk and Bronte Macaulay among the big names competing in this year’s Challenger Series.

“I’ve had quite a few heats with Bronte and Nikki,” she said. “I’m yet to have one with Sally, so I hope to get one this year. When you’re in a heat with those girls, I know I’ve got to be on, I’ve got to surf my best to get through them.”

This will be Kelly’s second year on the Challenger Series.

This year will be Kelly’s second crack at the Challenger Series. She initially missed out on automatic qualification through the third-tier Qualifying Series, despite missing key early season events in Nias, Krui and Taiwan, but was awarded a regional wildcard for her strong campaign, which saw her take out the Central Coast Pro in March.

“I ended up just finishing one stop short, which is a pretty crazy feat considering that I missed a three major regionals last year,” she said.

“The wildcard was almost like a nice pat on the back, like: ‘Good job, you almost got there, we’ll give you the last helping hand.’”

Kelly took out the Central Coast Pro at Avoca Beach in March. Photo: WSL/Ethan Smith

And with an extra year behind her, Kelly is confident of improving on her 18th-place finish from 2022.

“I was pretty dissatisfied with my whole campaign on the Challenger last year. I had a couple of good heats and good results, but I know that I was capable of more so that was disappointing – it was a big learning year. So I think everything that happened last year has helped get into the position that I’m in now.”

One of the biggest advantages will be the experience of having competed at the Challenger Series before.

“I think the biggest benefit is feeling more comfortable at the places that we’re going to,” she said. “Last year was my first time in Portugal and Brazil. It was all brand new to me so it will be nice going back this year and having a bit of familiarity.”

At 19, Kelly is one of the brightest prospects in Australian surfing, and despite her potential and the huge prize on offer, she’s keeping a level head ahead of the biggest year in her young surfing career to date.

“I just want to make as many heats as I can throughout the year, because if you’re making heats, you must be doing pretty well.”