Mum’s the world for rookie surfer Macy Callaghan ahead of opening event of world tour
Surf teen Macy Callaghan says from the outside looking in it appears she is living the dream, travelling the world and surfing postcard perfect locations. But there’s a flipside.
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Surf teen Macy Callaghan says from the outside looking in it appears she is living the dream, travelling the world and surfing postcard perfect locations.
But there’s a flipside.
After a season testing the waters as a wildcard to most events on the 2018 women’s world surfing tour, the teenager has learned valuable lessons she hopes to put in place for her rookie year.
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“I think people think we live like rock starts but it’s not all rainbows and unicorns,” said the 18-year-old who is the youngest Australian surfer to crack the tour since two-time world champion Tyler Wright as a 16-year-old in 2011.
“I had no idea how hard it would be, I really thought it would be easy.
“You are away from family and friends for so many days each year and it can be a little frightening. I learned last year that loneliness was a real thing and you have to learn how to deal with it.”
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The former world junior champion at just 15 showed she has the talent to emulate the feats of multiple world champions Stephanie Gilmore and Tyler Wright when she made the final of the Roxy Pro France five months ago.
But to make life out of the water easier in 2019, Callaghan will travel much of the year with her mother Deb or two sisters, creating a touring “family” with other surfers including Californian best friend Sage Erickson.
“I don’t think I was too young. I felt my surfing was there,” Callaghan said of surfing world tour events as a 17-year-old last season. “But maybe with the mental side I could have been a couple of years older.
“It was tough being on the other side of the world without your parents. But I learned a lot last year and I feel like I know what I am in for this year.”
Callaghan is one of two rookies on the 2019 women’s tour with Costa Rica surfer Brisa Hennessey, 19, also qualifying.
Both teenagers will now be in contention for surfing’s debut at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 with the 2019 world tour part of the qualifying process.
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