{"id":887,"date":"2024-11-25T11:02:32","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T11:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/alumni-news\/?p=887"},"modified":"2024-11-27T16:43:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T16:43:21","slug":"alumna-surfs-to-success-at-the-2024-isa-world-para-surfing-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/alumni-news\/2024\/11\/25\/alumna-surfs-to-success-at-the-2024-isa-world-para-surfing-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumna surfs to success at the 2024 ISA World Para Surfing Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Congratulations to alumna Charlotte Banfield (MSci Marine Biology) who has won the Gold medal for England in the 2024 ISA World Para Surfing Championship at Huntington Beach in California! Charlotte, aged 26, won gold in the stand three category at the championship which was her sixth world para-surfing championship attendance. In 2014 she began a transformative journey with one of The Wave Project’s Surf Therapy programmes<\/a> and despite facing challenges along the way, she has persevered to become a two-time gold-medallist athlete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We caught up with her recently to talk about what she enjoyed about the competition this year and what surfing has meant to her and she shared: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When I go to a competition the thing I look forward to the most is seeing my friends from around the world. Sometimes I only get to see them once a year, and that\u2019s at the world championships.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“Being a competitor para-surfer makes me feel like I am part of a big family where we all have disabilities and our differences but that\u2019s seen as a positive thing, and we can just be ourselves. There is no judgment and I feel like I belong. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s not always been like that, being quirky in a world where we are told to be a certain way. I have cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy and I am gay. Before learning to surf I struggled with being who I am. I was shy, didn\u2019t have much confidence and I struggled with my mental health. Surfing gave me discipline, motivation and shaped the person I am today. Being a para surfer means that I have an identity and I can hold my head up high being proud of the person I have become. I hope to show young people that\u2019s it\u2019s okay to be different and there is something out there for everyone that will make you happy to get up in the morning. For me that\u2019s surfing!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

Charlotte has been coached by Mike Young who runs Escape Surf School in Newquay for the past five years. He has helped to take her surfing to the next level and Charlotte’s performance this year helped Team England to a seventh place finish out of the 32 countries taking part in the Championship. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“The contest this year was extra tough. In the contest my first heat didn\u2019t go very well. The waves were much bigger and powerful than I am used too. Not only did I keep on falling, and spent a lot of time being tumbled under the water by big waves, but the power of the ocean broke my surfboard with four minutes left in the clock. That was the board that I had been training hard on. I just about scraped into the final, but that was a surprise. I had to give my everything in the final. I had to be brave, fierce and know that people will be proud of me for trying my best. I went out there and I gave it my everything.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the difficulties Charlotte was proud to retain her title as Para Stand 3 world champion. Reflecting back on when she won her first world title she said it was a moment she will never forget. “Becoming world champion is a moment that makes me very proud, a bit like when I graduated from the University of Exeter in marine science. You work so hard, and the success is worth the long days, stress and tears along the way. “<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In terms of this year’s contest and what she learned Charlotte explained: “This contest taught me resilience, patience and took a big emotional toll on me. But I surf because I love it, and it\u2019s totally worth it. I\u2019d like to thank everyone for their support. Without my community, family, friends and coach I would not have performed my best.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

We’re very proud of the person Charlotte is and all that’s she’s achieved, and can’t wait to watch where the waves take her next!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congratulations to alumna Charlotte Banfield (MSci Marine Biology) who has won the Gold medal for England in the 2024 ISA World Para Surfing Championship at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":435,"featured_media":899,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlumna surfs to success at the 2024 ISA World Para Surfing Championship - Alumni news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/alumni-news\/2024\/11\/25\/alumna-surfs-to-success-at-the-2024-isa-world-para-surfing-championship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alumna surfs to success at the 2024 ISA World Para Surfing Championship - 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