Press Release
Five teenagers will become the first-ever Bahamian surfers to compete at the International Surfing Association World Junior Championship September 4-13 in Surf City, El Salvador.
Eliza Denning, 18, a renowned sailor for the Bahamas will compete in a second sport for the country. The recent graduate of Lyford Cay International School will surf in the 18&Under division at the renowned surf breaks of La Bocana and El Sunzal in the La Libertad department.
At her most recent sailing regatta, the Aug. 11-19 ILCA6 Youth World Championships in Denmark, Eliza finished 12th out of a huge fleet of top international sailors.
“ISA World Jrs will be my first big surfing event. I have surfed for fun in a few other countries but the only other surf contests I have done have been in Eleuthera.”
“I’m super excited to be able to surf with some of the best young surfers and my goal is to learn and improve my surfing as much as I can, and gain experience surfing in big contests.”
“I feel like both the sports [sailing and surfing] connect in some ways as they are both on the ocean and deal with the same elements just in different ways which makes them quite easy to balance as they both help each other. For sailing I have regular practices with a team and then whenever the waves are good I try to go surfing too.”
“I was born in England but live in Nassau where I just graduated from LCIS. Next year I’m taking a gap year to try to qualify to the Olympics for sailing and after that I’m planning to go to university in California at UC Berkeley.”
D’Andro Thompson, 15, a student at Harbour Island All Age School in Eleuthera has been surfing with the Bahamas Surfing Association’s community outreach program the Eleuthera Surf Club for four years. D’Andro has surfed in local contests in Abaco and Eleuthera and makes his international debut September 5 when heats begin in the contest which features hundreds of teenagers from all over the world. D’Andro is entered in the 16&Under division.
“I’ve been surfing for four years. My biggest strength is going down the line. My weakness is slipping off my surfboard.”
“I [am] looking [forward to] going to El Salvador for the competition, friends and surfers.”
Twin sisters Makayla and Yemaya Hauber, 14, live in Savannah Sound, Eleuthera where they are students in the Aeon Online School. Born in New Providence the duo are members of the Eleuthera Sailing Academy and Ting ‘Um Jiu Jitsu. They were part of the winning South team last November in the inaugural Eleuthera Games surf contest. They will compete in the 16&Under division.
Makayla:
“My biggest strength is my bottom turn to top turn combo and I’m looking forward to improving my duck dives and I’m looking forward to surfing internationally.”
Yemaya:
“My strengths in surfing are wave selection and I’d like to improve on my duck diving and turning and I’m most excited for meeting new people and surfing in different conditions.”
Isaiah Thompson, 13, is the youngest member of Team Bahamas, and has been turning in some strong training sessions in the waves near his hometown of Gregory Town, Eleuthera.
Isaiah enters North Eleuthera High School this year. He finished second in the 100-meter dash and fifth in the 800-meter run in the 13&Under division at April’s Frank “Pancho” Rahming All Schools Track and Field Championships. His grandmother is a native of El Salvador and emigrated to Eleuthera some 50 years ago.
“My strength is going down the line. My improvement is to catch a barrel.”
“I’m looking forward for when I go to El Salvador to taste the food, the contest and the different types of cheese.”
Prior to the contest Isaiah, Yemaya and Head Coach Tom Glucksmann will get to train in Punta Mango, El Salvador as part of the ISA’s Youth Athlete Development Program, part of the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity initiative.
The Bahamas was one of ten countries selected to participate in the YADP along with American Samoa, Angola, El Salvador, Fiji, Mozambique, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vanuatu.
The trio will be coached and mentored August 29-September 1 by expert coaches and surfers.
Tom Glucksmann, 54, born in New Providence and resident of Eleuthera for 21 years:
“We’re grateful to the ISA and IOC for the opportunity to not only get the training but just the experience of traveling abroad and interacting with such a dynamic group of countries.”
“We have a very young team and our team goals are to have fun, learn and represent the country well. We want the kids to see this as a jumping off point. The powerful waves of El Salvador and a contest of this calibre represent a huge step up in their surfing careers, but we felt that having been accepted to the YADP it was a good time to form this team.”
“I’m very excited to have athletes of the calibre of Eliza and Isaiah. Their natural athletic ability definitely carries over into surfing. My hope is this experience pushes them to keep progressing in the sport.”
“It’s a great group of kids and I think our team dynamic will be strong. Surfing is an individualistic sport but with everyone representing the 242 the idea is to all get behind each other and see if we can’t have someone make it through a round. But our bottom line is everyone learns, enjoys the experience and catches some waves.”
The Bahamas Surfing Association is a registered non-profit organization and ISA-recognized governing body of the sport for the Bahamas. The BSA Board is comprised of members from Abaco, Eleuthera and New Providence.
Upcoming goals for the BSA include fielding a third consecutive team for the ISA World Surfing Games Nov. 6-13 in Punta Rocas, Peru.
The next local contest is the second annual Eleuthera Games Nov. 21 near Gregory Town, Eleuthera.
