Margaret River surfer Okie Fraser snags Mark Richards award

Margaret River-raised surfer Okie Fraser has snagged a key award putting him on the list of stars to watch for the future.

Fraser and Gracetown talent Sid Englert attended Surfing Australia’s high-performance camp last week in Casuarina, NSW, the State’s only entrants in the top 12 male junior surfers in the country.

While the commitment from August 9 to 11 meant the pair were not able to help their Margaret River Senior High School teammates in the qualifying round of the WA school surf titles, Fraser came out on top anyway winning the camp’s “most promising” award, judged by four-time world champion Mark Richards.

Surfing Australia talent pathway coach Peter Gordon said Fraser’s winning attitude and work ethic underscored the prestigious award.

While COVID-19 had stalled the camp during the past two years, the “most promising” award was considered an endorsement for future success, with past winners including Owen Wright, Margaret River star Jacob Willcox and top contender Joel Vaughn.

“It was about his attitude towards getting better and preparing for growth,” Gordon said.

“He’s a great kid and always the first person to put up his hand to help.”

Fraser told the Times the trip over east was “fun”.

“It was a very stacked camp with a lot of good surfers on it,” he said.

“It was a very big thing to me and (I was) very honoured to get it (the award) because there were a lot of big names on there.”

Schoolmates Ruby Berry and Kaleisha Launders would have a similar opportunity later this year, with the pair invited to the HPC’s Lane Beachley camp in Queensland.