Willow Hardy’s high-performance Layne Beachley camp adventures set for small screen

Margaret River’s future international surfing star Willow Hardy is set to make her debut in a “reality TV” show captured during this year’s high-octane specialist surf camp with sporting legend Layne Beachley. Only seven female surfers nationwide aged 17 to 20 were picked to attend the Rising Seven performance camp back in May with the seven-time world champion who now chairs Surfing Australia. And their efforts undertaking gruelling training and associated challenges was fodder for a multi-part documentary series which is available now on the Youtube channel mySURFtv and will feature in two episodes of Surfing Australia TV on August 19 and September 16. The camp was designed to provide a pathway for young athletes making the jump from the Pro Juniors to the big league Qualifying and Challenger Series. As part of the feature for television and online, the young women were also put through a series of challenges with $10,000 prize money on the line — though Surfing Australia didn’t reveal the outcome in a tip to its TV audience. Hardy told the Times the whole adventure was “an amazing experience”. “It really pushed my surfing, surfing with the top girls from Australia and Layne,” she said. “Layne was so inspirational on the camp and getting to learn from her was such a privilege. “We were surfing three times every day with loads of mental and physical challenges woven in. “The camp was in a leaderboard scenario with the winner taking $10k.” Beachley said it was important to mentor the next wave of young female talent. “The Rising 7 camp is about challenging, empowering and inspiring the next generation of Australian female surfers,” she said. “Seeing how they adapt to the pressure, how they adapt to all the different challenges we put on their shoulders and how respectful they are both in and out of the water. “They’re beginning to leave school, and some are balancing work and training commitments. “A sponsorship and mentorship would deeply support their journey and it also aligns to the Surfing Australia high-performance program strategy to support females in this age group and retain them in the pathway as they transition through this often challenging period.” The camp was held at the organisation’s centre in Casuarina, NSW, and included mental health strategies for high-pressure competition as well as surf-specific strength and conditioning training. Each surfer was hand selected by Beachley with Surfing Australia talent pathway coach Chelsea Hedges. WA’s other participant was Red Bluff’s Coral Durant.