Darci Air was a beach girl from birth. The 16-year-old started nippers as a five-year-old and instantly fell in love with the sand and the surf.
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Today, the Thirroul Surf Lifesaving Club member spends every hour possible at the beach, surfing, swimming or on patrol.
“She’s been doing nippers since she was five and competing since she was seven,” Darci’s mother Nicole said.
“She’s just always loved the beach, it’s been constant throughout her life, she just likes being near the water.
“Every day, when she’s not at school, she’s at the beach. Sometimes she’s at the beach even when she’s supposed to be at school.”
All that time at the beach has started to pay off for Air.
Darci recently returned home from Scarborough, Western Australia, where she claimed gold in the Open Female Board Riding and Under 17 Female Board Riding and silver in the Open Female Malibu Long Board Riding events at the Australian National Surf Titles. The medals add to a bronze medal she claimed in 2017.
It was an achievement she didn’t expect, but one she was extremely proud of.
“It was pretty good,” Air said. “It was made better because all my team was there. The paddling team from Thirroul were there watching, so that was pretty cool.
“The conditions were pretty tough, the surf was pretty small and it was really windy. I think because I was a bit smaller, it was easier for me to catch the waves. My board was pretty good for small waves.”
Air then backed up her successful national surf titles by leading Bulli High School to victory in last week’s Pines Surfing School Competition where she was named most valuable female surfer.
The competition features a unique team-based format and it’s one she found quite enjoyable.
“It’s good because usually in surfing you’re on your own. In this you’re competing with other people on a team, it’s not just you.”
True to form, the 16-year-old plans to spend the winter in the water, where she will prepare for the upcoming Regional Titles.