SPORT

Sai’s epic ride

WORDS: John McJannett PHOTOGRAPHY John McJannett

Rising Japanese-born, Gold Coast-based surfing talent Sai Maniwa has been kicking goals in and out of the water since she and her family relocated here three years ago to help her chase her dream of becoming a professional athlete.

AUSTRALIA has long been spoken of as a land of opportunity; a country where you can dare to dream and those dreams can come true if you are willing to have a go and put in the effort required to succeed.

And so it was in 2021 for Japanese-born surfer Sai Maniwa in her dream to surf in the world’s top competition. It was a milestone year for the Palm Beach-Currumbin High School graduate and one in which she made fantastic progress towards achieving that sometimes elusive childhood dream.

Sai obtained her Senior Certificate, qualified for university entrance, was named Female Surfer of the Year in her school’s Surfing Excellence Program and she was named Snapper Boardriders Club 2021 Club Junior Female Surfing Champion.

To cap it all off, Sai won the WSL Pro-Junior held on the Gold Coast last year. The win entitles her to take the next step in her progress towards surfing against the world’s best in the World Surf League. Not bad for a virtually non-English speaking young lady who came to Australia from Japan with her mum, Shiho, and younger sister, Shui, just three years ago.

Inspired by her surfing mum, who was a local at surf breaks in Sagami Bay, near Tokyo, Sai took to the water at seven years of age. She showed immediate promise and quickly became a standout surfer at her local beaches within a very short period of time, winning prizes in local surfing competitions every time she competed.

During the next seven years, Sai had the opportunity to travel to Australia on several occasions and she immediately fell in love with the country, the surfing scene and a lifestyle and culture that encouraged young people to follow their dreams. So it was no surprise that the three ladies arrived in Australia in 2018.  It was even less of a surprise when the family chose to settle on the Gold Coast.

An additional, huge attraction for the young Sai on the Gold Coast was the Sports Excellence in Surfing Program offered to students at Palm Beach-Currumbin High. Sai started at PBC in Grade 10 and completed her Senior Year in 2021. Along the way, she became fluent in English and improved her grades so much she has been accepted to study at Griffith University.

A real bonus for Sai has been the expert coaching she has received from the school’s Surf Coaches – Phil McNamara, Blair Semple and Ben Falvey.  All three coaches have been a huge influence as they quickly honed in on Sai’s natural ability in the water and her innate desire to continually improve her skills in the surf.

It wasn’t long before Sai began to excel in the Gold Coast surf outside the school program and, motivated by her desire to get the best out of herself, she joined the Snapper Boardriders Club.  It was here that she discovered her real love for competition surfing and her will to win.

Michael Crisp, from the High-Performance Surfing Centre in Cabarita, has been added to the list of coaches currently offering their expertise to the fast-developing talents of Sai. Under guidance from Michael’s weekly coaching sessions, Sai is fine-tuning the art of competition surfing and learning key strategies for wave selection, critical manoeuvres and precise timing.

Sai planned to return to Japan to compete in the Asian section of the Qualifying Series in March, where victory would give her the opportunity to compete in the Challenger Series and, ultimately, a possible chance to surf against the world’s best female surfers on the world tour.

We caught up with Sai just before she returned to Japan to compete in March.

 

Who and what has influenced your journey in surfing so far?

By far my biggest influence has been my mum Shiho. She was amongst the first group of women to surf in Japan. She still enjoys surfing today and has always encouraged and supported me, especially since I have started competition surfing. Mum and Dad always competed in sports and I respect and understand the hard work they did to be good at their sports. Both my mum and my sister are also in the Snapper Boardriders Club as they both surf. I also greatly admire Carissa Moore, the current world women’s champion, as her surfing is so powerful and cool. I have a lot to learn from her personality as an athlete and human being. She is one of the reasons I want to be on the world tour.

 

How would you describe your surfing?

My surfing style at the moment is mostly about power and speed on the waves. In the future, I would like to learn new “tricks” to add to my style. I want to be better at more different moves on the waves and I want to get better at doing air. I love surfing big waves, even when I get smashed.

 

Do you have any sponsorship?

My current sponsors are Hurley, Murasaki Sports, FCS, Brisamarina, SSS County and Surf training 2007.

 

How do you feel about your time in Australia so far? 

I am very lucky to have the chance to graduate high school and take part in the School of Excellence for Surfing at the same time. I would not have the chance to do this in Japan as there is no program like this in a high school over there. I believe that I am a really hard worker and I enjoy the chance to prove myself.

When I first came to the Gold Coast I hardly spoke any English at all so I had to work hard at school, learn English and gain knowledge in all my other subjects. I was getting C grades in English in Grade 10 but I worked hard and I achieved mostly B+ grades for English in my final year last year. In my final year, I got A Grades in four subjects and I also achieved Certificate III and IV in Fitness Classes.

I like that the people living on the Gold Coast are mostly very friendly and the lifestyle here is more relaxed than in Japan. From my experience in Australia, young people are encouraged to be individual much more than in Japan.

 

What do you most enjoy about surfing competitions?

I enjoy the feeling of winning and I know that the competitions help me improve my surfing a lot. I am really passionate about surfing and I don’t like to lose at all.

 

What are your interests outside of surfing?

I have a lot of fitness programs to do and I ride my skateboard, I swim and run a lot with my friends and I do strength training also. I also have been playing piano for more than 10 years and my sister, Shui, is a very good piano player. Last year she obtained first place in Queensland for the Australian Piano World Sauter competition and then she came third in the Australian National competition.  She is focusing on the piano rather than surfing

 

What is your future in surfing?

I want to work hard at being better at competition surfing and I want to improve a lot.  I am pleased that I have had and still have very good coaches who can teach me a lot about the ocean and how to read the waves and surf a whole lot better. I think that I am a positive person and that I will learn quickly and I will be able to improve and become a lot better in competition surfing.

I would like to have the chance to be on the world tour one day and inspire other younger people to do well in their life. I would like to do the course in Exercise Science at Griffith University and this will teach me a lot about my body and being a better athlete. This will help my surfing a lot and help me fulfil my dream.