MARTIN LANG
HE ALREADY has one apprenticeship under his belt but today Nick White is setting out on the career of dreams - pro surfing on the world circuit.
The 22-year-old Mount local flies to Australia this evening for his first crack at the World Qualifying Series, battleground of aspiring pros,
at Soldiers Beach, NSW next week. The $NZ100,000 Arrive Alive Central Coast Pro, starting Tuesday, is the first of 10 events White is targeting in a season that will take him from the chill of north Scotland to the heat of midsummer Portugal.
While 2001 NZ champ Mark Dovey had a dig at a half-dozen "QS" events in 2003, White is the first Mountie to tackle the series head-on. Eighth in the national Corona Crown tour in 2004 and ninth in 2007, he says the freedom that completing his building apprenticeship in 2007 brought, helped turn a vague ambition into a pro campaign.
"The WQS had always been in the back of my mind. Travelling last year, I spent two weeks in the Mentawai islands [a famed Indonesian surfing region], and three months in Mexico. I was meeting people who were doing the WQS ... I realised I don't want to sit back thinking about it [pro surfing] for a few years."
White's farewell couldn't have been scripted better, the young hotshot taking out the resurrected Island Masters title in classic tubing conditions last Monday at a certain legendary local break. "I was pretty stoked to get a good day of waves," is his laid-back response to victory among a virtual who's who of Mount surfing.
Coverage of the epic event is featured on the surf2surf.co.nz website.
That he's equally at home in big, body-slamming barrels as launching aerials in the smaller stuff is obvious in video footage from the Mexico sojourn. Mount surfboard shaper Andy Jordan, who makes White's boards and surfed some seriously heavy beach-break tubes with him in Mexico, sums it up: "The waves got up to a good 10-foot, and Nick was straight into it. He just ripped."
Following a second WQS event at Newcastle, NSW on March 31-April 6, White will squeeze in a two-day visit home before heading off for a five-month stint in Europe. It's only the support of sponsors - especially global surf brand O'Neill, whom he's been with about six years and who funded his round-the-world air ticket - that makes the foray possible, he says. Surf equipment company Da Kine and timely backing confirmed this week by Gravis footwear and Anon eyewear are also helping him on the contest trail.
He has been to Indonesia four times but Europe is new territory for the amiable young wave slayer. However, he'll be travelling with good mate Rowan Aish, from Muriwai, who has invaluable experience and handy accommodation connections from the European Pro Junior circuit and several WQS events.
White estimates a core of about 300 surfers make a committed assault on the WQS annually. "This year my goal's the top-100, if you make that you get straight into a lot more events, the biggest five- and six-star ones.
O'Neill's national sales and marketing manager, Jason Falconridge, says White's travels have already given their team rider a noticeable confidence boost. "This [series campaign] is a stepping stone for Nick. It can take up to 3-4 years to hit your best in the WQS. If he starts doing well, I'll be pushing for him to get full international sponsorship."
WORLD SERIES 48 contests worldwide, ranging from 1-star ($12,550) to 6-star prime ($170,000) Surfers' series standing determines contest seeding, with higher-ranked competitors seeded through to later rounds Competitors' best seven results count towards final rating for season Top-15 for season advance to World Championship Tour field of 45, with 11 contests spanning some of the world's best surf breaks.
Nick White's WQS schedule (all events streamed live on the internet): Arrive Alive Central Coast Pro, Soldiers Beach NSW, Mar 11-16; Mark Richards Pro, Newcastle NSW Mar 31-Apr 6; Vendee Surf Pro, Bretignolles, France, Apr 15-20; O'Neill Highland Open, Thurso, Scotland, Apr 24-May 1; Super Bock Pro, Amado, Portugal, Jul 10-13; Rip Curl Board Masters, Newquay, England, Aug 5-10; Movistar Pantin Classic, Pantin, Spain, Sep 3-7; Zarautz Pro Surf, Basque country, France, Sep 11-14; La Caja de Canarias-Ocean & Earth Pro, Canary Islands, Oct 6-12; Estoril Coast Pro, Carcavelos, Portugal, Oct 21-26.