Young Māori making waves

East Coast teenager Te Waiotu Fairlie competing at the National Surfing Championships in Dunedin. She placed second in the under-18 girls’ long board final with a score of 8.75 for her two best waves — just 0.30 behind winner Lucy Macefield. Picture by Surfing NZ

Being young doesn’t stop Māori surfer Te Waiotu Fairlie from dreaming big.

Te Waiotu (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Te Whānau a Te Aotāwarirangi me Te Whānau a Ruataupare) was second in the under-18 girls’ longboard final at the National Surfing Championships in Dunedin recently.

She added it to bronze medals in the under-18 and open women’s a divisions of the 2023 Maori surf nationals.

Te Waiotu lives in Ūawa Tolaga Bay with her whānau. She was born and raised on the Coast between Tokomaru Bay and Ūawa.

Her strong connection with the moana (ocean) was forged through father Regan Pahewa.

“He’s a water man, He’s always had me around water and taught me many things about the ocean,” she said.

Te Waiotu was drawn to surfing through these life lessons and can remember paddling on a surfboard in the shallows as far back as a three-year-old.

Now, at 16, she is training, competing and showing that Māori can surf at a high level.

“Surfing is in our blood — through whakapapa and connected back to our cousins in Hawaii.

“We should take a lot of pride and mana as Māori who surf. We have it in us to become the best.”

The surfing nationals held at St Clair Beach proved a learning experience.

“It was cool to go to Dunedin with my dad and check out all the surf breaks and see what the waves are like.

“It was a good chance to see where the scholastic secondary schools surfing competition will be held later this year.”

Te Waiotu trained hard for the event and said competing at national level proved a  massive learning opportunity.

“I was hoping to come home with a gold but I got silver and that means there is still a lot of learning for me to do about surfing at a national level.”

“There aren’t many Māori surfers in the competitive scene but there’s plenty who just go surfing.

Te Waiotu says she feels a strong bond with surfing through being Māori.

“Being able to connect to the moana in that way helps cleanse me, It does all these things that help me keep my wairua (spirit) at peace.

“It’s also a place of humbling. When you go out and the waves are big, it humbles you . . .  it gives you all the aspects you need in life.”

The competitive side is “new ground” and she says she has a goal of taking Māori surfing to the next level.

“I would love to become the face of Māori surfing in Aotearoa and also would love to make it to the Olympics one day.”

She wants there to be a rōpū that represents young Māori surfers and supports those who want to pursue it as a sport.

“It would help reconnect us as rangatahi back to the moana.”

Te Waiotu has advice for rangatahi wanting to pursue and succeed at anything in life.

“Do what you love, love what you do. Even though you’re young, you can never dream too big. Dream big, achieve your goals and have fun while doing it.”