Surfer Sierra Kerr on surfing, success and her famous dad
She’s the daughter of an Australian surfing icon, and with a rare feat in sight, this 16-year-old is looking to make a name for herself in the water.
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It’s fair to say 2023 has been a good year so far for Sierra Kerr.
The 16-year-old surfer from the Gold Coast has rattled off a series of stunning results over the past six months, and will head into this weekend’s Pro Junior event at Lennox Head with the chance to achieve the rare feat of winning three events in a row.
Kerr’s year started off in dramatic fashion in January at the WSL World Junior Championships in California. Competing against the world’s best surfers under the age of 20, Kerr finished third in the event, narrowly losing the semi-final to eventual champion Francisca Veselko of Portugal.
She then continued the good run of form by taking out the first WSL Pro Junior event of the season, the Tweed Coast Pro, at Kingscliff.
Kerr finished 13th at the second event of the tour in Lake Macquarie, before going on a remarkable run to win the Gold Coast Pro Junior and Sydney Pro Junior in a crazy two weeks in early May.
In between, she finished in an excellent ninth place in the open-age Challenger Series event at her home break of Snapper Rocks, in what is the second-tier of world surfing.
These results mean that the 16-year-old is sitting at the top of the Australia/Oceania Pro Junior rankings, having won three of the four events so far this year.
“I’ve been pretty stoked about the Pro Juniors,” she said. “After the worlds (WSL World Championships) I’ve been motivated to go well in the Pro Juniors to get back there.
“Last year I was kind of like toughing it out, I didn’t really know what to expect or how I was going to place, but then coming into this year I’ve been hoping and expecting to win and get good results.”
This also means that Kerr will be going for the rare feat of three-straight tour wins when she takes part in the Lennox Head Pro Junior event, which kicks off on Saturday.
“I’m really excited to surf Lennox. I’ve never surfed Lennox, even though it’s only an hour from my house, but I’m really excited to get down there.”
Chip off the old block
While she has been in incredible form, it’s not just Kerr’s results that have attracted attention.
Sierra is the daughter of Tweed Heads surfing legend Josh Kerr, who spent a decade on the world tour, recording four top-10 finishes along the way.
And while his competitive record is impressive enough in itself, Kerr senior is perhaps best known as one of the most innovative surfers of his generation, with his progressive aerial game contributing to the evolution of surfing over the past couple of decades.
With a surfing legend as a dad, Sierra’s lifestyle isn’t typical for a teenager. The 16-year-old – who spent a decade living in the US before moving back to Australia in recent years – often travels around world chasing waves and taking part in surfing events.
“It’s really cool. I’ve been doing online school for most of my life because we were always travelling with my dad when he was on tour, going to cool places and I think it’s so cool to be able to see parts of the world and figure out the cultures,” she said.
“It’s a really good learning experience. Now me and my dad just go on surf trips and have fun, get some free surfing in and go on trips to different places.”
It’s also perhaps no surprise that Sierra is also a gun when it comes to creative, aerial surfing.
“I’ve definitely been inspired by my dad,” she says. “If I wasn’t watching him growing up I probably wouldn’t have that aerial kind of mindset. When I watch him I just want to try them (airs) and hopefully get some good ones and use them in comps.”
And while it might now seem like a fait accompli that Kerr would pursue surfing, she says it wasn’t always necessarily the case.
“Growing up I was skating most of the time and would surf every once in a while for fun,” she says.
“My dad would put me on the front of his board when I was super little, but I started surfing when I was five. I wasn’t too into it till maybe 12-ish, and that’s when I really started loving it.
“I have a few memories from maybe when I was eight or so, but not many from when I was standing on the front of his board when he’d take me out,” she laughs.
Generation next
While her father has undoubtedly been a huge influence on her life and surfing, Kerr is also equalled inspired by the new generation of female surfers who are pushing the sport to levels never seen before.
Counting top-five Championship Tour (CT) surfers Caitlin Simmers and Molly Picklum as friends, Kerr says her free surfs are often like inspiration sessions.
“It’s so cool to watch them, especially now that they’re winning CTs and stuff. But just surfing with them and being friends with them is really cool.
“And those are the times when they push you. They might land something, then you land something, and it’s just so fun being friends with those kinds of people and being able to push each other.”
With her incredible ability, fantastic results and family lineage, Kerr has in some corners been anointed the title of Australia’s next big thing in surfing.
And in May surfing fans had a golden opportunity to see the new generation clash with the old guard, when Kerr took on eight-time world champion Steph Gilmore in a heat at the Challenger Series event at Snapper Rocks.
In their epic round of 16 heat, Kerr looked certain to pull off an upset for ages as she led Gilmore comfortably with a just a couple of minutes to go, before the veteran scored waves of 8.07 and 9.33 to remarkably steal the win in the final moments.
“I couldn’t have wanted a better scenario: to be surfing with Steph at Snapper,” said Kerr. “We always surf there and just for it to be only us out there was the most crazy thing ever. You can never imagine it without people out, let alone to be with Steph.
“I just wanted to go out there, have fun and enjoy myself. I ended up doing pretty good for most of the heat and just got done at the end. But it was so great to have that opportunity.”
Keeping grounded
The WSL Championship Tour has come a long way in recent decades, with the now highly professional CT a long way away from the more hedonistic tour of the past where partying often took precedence over surfing.
This is a huge bonus to the scores of ambitious and talented surfers around the world. But it can also lead to increased pressure on young athletes looking to crack the big time.
And while Kerr has been surrounded by the surfing industry her whole life, she seems to have struck the right balance between competing and enjoyment.
“Right now I’m just doing some free surfing and filming a movie,” she said.
“I’ve been doing a couple of comps, but I’m not trying to do too many and take up my time; I’d rather just go free surfing and have fun right now, but in a couple of years I’ll definitely start getting into the comps more and hopefully do well in them.”
In fact, in what might seem like an interesting pursuit for a high-powered surfer who loves taking it to the air, Kerr has one particular hobby that she loves to do in her spare time.
“My nanna’s always played golf, and my dad ended up showing me a golf movie. He thought it was going to get me more motivated to skate and stuff, but it ended up just making me want to play golf,” she laughs.
“I play a lot when I’m in Cali because the waves aren’t as good, but I love playing golf as like a side thing to do, and when it’s winter I’ll go snowboarding for fun, do other stuff and not get stuck just surfing.”
Indeed, with her name and reputation, there are a lot of people who expect big things from the 16-year-old in the next few years.
However in her typically down-to-earth approach, Kerr doesn’t seem to let the pressure get to her.
“It’s definitely a thing that gets thrown around a lot, but I try not to think about it too much and try to embrace it and think that it’s pretty cool,” she says.
“I try to live up to my own expectations. I probably set myself the highest expectations out of anyone, so my goal is to achieve them, have fun and try and embrace whatever is going on in the moment.”
The Lennox Head Pro Junior event takes place between July 8-11
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