Sophie Fletcher, Nikki Van Dijk, Sage Goldsbury: Top surfers of the Bass Coast
Bass Coast is a world renowned surfing location and there is no shortage of world champs coming from our region. Here are some of the best surfers Bass Coast has to offer.
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Bass Coast and Phillip Island in particular has a reputation for being one of the best surfing locations in Australia.
Many world famous surfers have surfed the waves of Cape Woolamai and Summerlands.
It is no secret Bass Coast is home to many amazing surfers, both young and not so young.
Here are 10 of the best from the area.
Sophie Fletcher
Phillip Island local Sophie Fletcher grew up in the waves and said it was inevitable she would become a surfer.
“My dad and my mum surf so it was bound to happen. When I was four I learned to surf around Wilsons Prom and the Island,” she said.
“I am super grateful that mum and dad introduced me to surfing because it is part of my everyday life.”
She began competing with the Phillip Island Boardriders Club.
“That is such a great community to be a part of because it doesn’t matter about your age or gender, we all just look out for each other,” she said.
“Through them I learned to love competing and from there I went to state level through surfing Victoria and then more on an international stage after school.”
Sophie loves the feeling of surfing.
“I can’t even describe it you are so incredibly present,” she said.
“But it is also incredibly social.”
Sophie said she has friends all over the state and even internationally that have come from surfing and for that she is super grateful.
“It’s just so much fun,” she said.
Competing internationally has taken Sophie to some incredible places around the globe but she said her favourites would have to be South Africa and Indonesia.
“The thing about surfing is every place is so different,” she said.
“South Africa, yes the waves are amazing but the culture and travel there is so cool too. And then Indonesia I see as the pinnacle of good waves everywhere.”
Winning a world qualifying event in Western Australia is definitely on Sophie’s highlight reel.
But, Sophie said despite the titles and trophies, she is most proud of how she has allowed surfing to “shape who [she] is”.
“The lessons it has taught me and the friendships it has bought me, they have all made me who I am and I am really proud of that,” she said.
Sonia Seuren
Fifteen-year-old Sonia Sueren from Inverloch loves getting out onto the waves as much as possible.
At just four years old, Sonia’s mum and dad took her and her twin sister Sarah down to the beach and “pushed [them] into some waves”.
She’s been surfing ever since.
“The whole family just loved going to the beach and we just fell in love with it instantly,” she said.
“We joined the boardriders club and that was that.”
Sonia has competed at a local level and a state level and recently came fourth in the final round of the Woolworths Victorian Junior Surfing Titles.
Along with her sister, Sonia is a team rider for Vortex surf, skate and snow.
In September Sonia took part in the surf aid Make A Wave challenge where they surfed every day for 30 days to help families access clean water, healthcare and food security.
Sonia loves to give back and she especially loves it when her surfing can help her do that.
“One of the things I am proudest of is doing the disabled surfing event,” she said.
“Every year it’s run and it is just a great day to get out and help, to push some of them around in some waves, it make syou feel good.”
Sonia also loves getting out into the waves with her sister and her friends.
“It is just a great way to hang out with your friends,” she said.
In the future Sonia would love to keep competing and “enjoying the saltwater”.
Sarah Seuren
Sarah Seuren loves surfing alongside her twin sister Sonia and said she was lucky to get a sister and a surfing buddy when their parents pushed them into some waves at four years old.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to share the activity together,” she said.
“We also joined the boardriders club and had so many good mentors,” she said.
Like Sonia, Sarah is a team rider for Vortex surf, skate and snow.
In September the girls took part in the surf aid Make A Wave challenge where they surfed every day for 30 days to help families access clean water, healthcare and food security.
The sisters smashed their fundraising target, raising over $1000 for the charity.
Sarah said she has made so many good friends through surfing.
“It is so nice, it’s such a good sport because you can be out in the water with your friends and it just makes you feel good,” she said.
Sarah finished in third place in the final round of the Woolworths Victorian Junior Surfing Titles, after coming fourth in round one.
In 2021 Sarah came out with two top finishes in the Phillip Island Board Riders Aggregate 1 and Super Groms event.
She won the Cadet Females (U16) and the Open Women’s events.
The Rip Curl pro Bells trials was the biggest competition Sarah has ever competed in.
“I got knocked out in the first heat but I got a really good score,” she said.
This year Sarah broke her arm, adding to a list of breaks however, next year Sarah would love to win a state title and make the state team again.
“In the long term it would always be nice to make the state tour but we will see how we go,” she said.
Sage Goldsbury
Cape Woolamai local, Sage Goldsbury is a competitive surfer who comes from a long line of surfers.
Both of Sage’s parents taught her to surf and she has been doing it for as long as she can remember.
Sage loves spending time with her friends surfing just for fun, but surfing competitively fills her with an excitement and a drive to keep progressing.
Sage loves to travel to Indonesia to go surfing, where there is a “huge variety of waves and warm water”.
She has represented Australia at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships and has competed in many other competitions both locally and afar.
In the 2021/22 women’s Qualifying series Sage ranked number 12 and in 2021 she helped lead the Phillip Island team to victory at the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle Victorian Qualifier.
Sage attended Newhaven College and when she was in year 10 she received the Gipp-star award, recognising her achievements in surfing.
Harry De Roth
Originally from Cornwall, Harry de Roth now calls Phillip Island and its beaches home.
He has competed in many competitions from the Phillip Island Pro to the Victorian state champs.
He captained the Phillip Island team when they won the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle Victorian Qualifier, defeating Torquay and the Peninsula.
Switching the beach for a wave pool in 2021 due to the pandemic Harry came second in the Victorian Open titles, held at URBNSURF in Tullamarine.
This year he surfed in the Phillip Island Pro QS1000 in November after receiving a wildcard spot, due to being narrowly knocked out of the running.
The event was held from November 3-6 and included a World Surf League Qualifying Series (QS) 1000 rated event for both Men and Women as well as the Victorian round of the Hyundai Australian Boardriders Battle.
Harry has also been a previous captain of the Phillip Island Board Riders Club.
Nikki Van Dijk
28-year-old Nikki is a world renowned surfer, who has an older sister, Nina, and a younger brother, Joe.
She attended Newhaven College, and her mum is a teacher at Cowes Primary School.
She grew up on Phillip Island, where her dad and older sister taught her to surf the waves of Cape Woolamai and Summerlands before she jumped into the big leagues.
“I watched my older sister and thought that looks so cool I want to be like her,” she said.
Nikki was 13 years old when she started competing, and regularly showed up the boys.
In 2012, during her final year of school she raced off to Bali just before final exams to clinch the World Junior Championship.
In 2013, she competed in the Association of Surfing Professionals’ Qualifying Series; she ended her season by winning the Pantin Classic Galicia Pro in Spain, and qualified for the ASP Women’s Championship Tour.
She joined the world surfing Tour in 2014, where she travelled to Fiji and took a wipe-out that led to 16 stitches near her eye.
At the same time she was on tour, she competed in some Qualifying Series events. In June 2015 she won Los Cabos Open of Surfing at Zippers beach.
2015 was van Dijk’s best year on the WSL tour, finishing the year with six quarter-finals in a row. She finished in 9th place for the season, and qualified to compete on the WSL tour again in 2016.
Nikki continued to compete at the highest level of the sport through 2021 with the World Surf League.
In 2021 she finished 13th on the WSL tour, below the automatic qualifying threshold for the 2022 season.
She leads a proud vegan lifestyle and encourages others to embrace the benefits.
“I can’t do anything I don’t enjoy, so the main piece of advice I have is to make the change enjoyable and still eat the foods you love,” she said.
Despite all the awards, Nikki surfs because she loves it and will always think of herself as a surfer before a professional surfer.
Joe Van Dijk
Younger brother to Nikki, Joe also grew up on Phillip Island and followed in his older sister’s footsteps to become a surfer.
He has surfed alongside surfing greats such as Mick Fanning and Gabriel Medina.
Joe has competed in both local competitions and on a larger stage.
The Rip Curl Pro and Victorian state champs are among Joe’s list of high profile competitions.
In 2014 he came second at the ISA world juniors and in 2015 he won the Rip Curl Pro competition, which he said was “such a dream”.
As part of the 2021 Victorian Open Series Joe walked away with the highest individual wave score of the day during February 28 competition (a 9.80 out of a possible ten).
When he was younger Joe was lucky enough to be mentored by world champion surfer Mark Richards, during a five day elite training camp.
In 2021 he competed in the Victorian Open Championship Shoot Out event, held at URBNSURF in Melbourne.
In January this year he surfed in the Phillip Island Board Riders Club single fin event at Cape Woolamai.
He has also surfed in the Phillip Island Pro and travelled to the waves of Hawaii and Indonesia.
Glyndyn Ringrose
Glyndyn “Ringa” Ringrose has lived on Phillip Island for more than 20 years, with more than 30 years experience under his belt he works for and rides with Island Surfboards as a shaper and a coach.
He is a former World Tour surfer and famously scored a perfect ten at Chopes despite being dropped in on.
He has also worked as water patrol for the Bells Beach trials.
Glyndyn has battled his way to the top on and off the waves. He is a cancer survivor and he said he used his diagnosis as a motivator to be a better surfer.
“The cancer thing definitely did spur me on,” he said.
He was on the pro tour in 1999 and 2000, and was shocked when he heard his initial cancer diagnosis.
Competing in his first world championship tour event in 17 years, Ringrose claimed a wildcard for the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro in 2017 where he was knocked out in the second round.
He has also competed in many local and international competitions.
He had an interesting upbringing being born to missionary parents in Vanuatu before moving to Fiji and then to the Solomon Islands before finally moving to Australia.
He has a wife, Kate, and two sons, Isaac and Seth.
When he was just a kid Glyndyn saw a photo of a surfer, from which point he knew he wanted to do it too.
“I started small but soon found myself riding the huge waves in Hawaii on the world tour as a pro surfer,” he said.
Glyndyn also worked at the 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympics when surfing was included for the first time, on the jetski team.
Carl Wright
Carl “Killer” Wright is a team rider with Island Surfboards and international rider from Smiths Beach.
In 2016 he was crowned TOLL Victorian Open Champions at Bells Beach, one of the biggest competitions in the surfing world.
This year Carl surfed in the Phillip Island pro, in round two he surfed against fellow local Harry De Roth, unfortunately he didn’t win his heat.
He also surfed in November’s Australian Battle of the Boardriders on the Phillip Island Boardriders team.
In 2018 he won the Bells Beach trials and won a spot in the main event, where he surfed alongside world champs like Mick Fanning.
He placed in 25th place at the event.
In 2019 Carl was awarded a wildcard spot into the Phillip Island Pro after taking out a win at the Victorian Open Series.
Codie Jeffery
Codie ‘Parm’ Jeffery is from Phillip Island and has been a team rider for Phillip Island Surfboards since 2019.
This year he took out the win for round two of the Victorian Open Titles on the Mornington Peninsula.
When he was younger he took out the under 12s category at the annual Billabong Occy Grom Comp.
In 2020 he was named a state champion when he came second in the under 18s Victorian Open Titles.
In 2021 he won the Open section of Surfing Victoria’s Tradies Challenge, adding to his long list of surfing trophies.
This year he came second in the event when it was held at URBNSURF, alongside other local surfer Harry de Roth who came third.
Codie has been a part of the state team for many years and has helped with the establishment of surfing Victoria’s online development program which is designed to provide technical and mental solutions to accelerate the development of all surfers.
Codie has also been a part of surfing Victoria’s high performance program.
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