Nicole Morgan
Nicole Morgan was born in Belfast in Northern Ireland, and now resides in County Donegal, Ireland. Since bursting onto the UK & Irish surf scene some years ago, Nicole has been a constant threat in all national competitions, accumulating more titles than you can shake a stick at. Few surfers are as well traveled as Nicole, who has surfed and trained all over the world including exotic surf destinations in Hawaii, Indonesia and Australia to name a few. While Nicole loves surfing among girls, she also acknowledges that her rapid rate of progression in recent years has been partly down to the fact she enjoys paddling out with guys. As a qualified physiotherapist, Nicole is also very aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle, and pushes herself hard when it comes to physical training and conditioning outside the water. This coming year, Nicole is looking forward to competing on the European Pro Tour, and is also hoping to fly the Irish flag once again at the World Surfing Games. Although not classed as a career achievement in the strictest sense of the word, one of Nicole's happiest moments saw her tying the knot with her boyfriend Niall. In spite of all that traveling to surf perfect waves, Nicole is always more than happy to return home to Bundoran where she can surf barrels among friends and alongside her brother Mike.
Congratulations Nicole Morgan!
O’Neill surfer Nicole Morgan was the winner of the Portrush Open 2008 in Northern Ireland - the first selection event for an Irish Team for the World Surfing Games in October this year.
"he win was an important one for me," she said. "For the past 8 months I have been focusing my training and development on competing at these games and getting a solid result before the 2009 WQS begins.
I now look good to qualify so I’m delighted".
Q: What has been the biggest highlight of the past 12 months for you?
A: From a personal perspective, it has to be getting married to my lovely man Niall in Italy last July! From a surfing perspective, it was probably my first experience of the North Shore in Hawaii last November. I really enjoyed surfing a mixture of waves from fun, playful Rockies to big, solid Sunset and getting to ride a gun for the first time ever! From a competition perspective, winning the Irish title again and finishing 7th at the European Championships was pretty cool too.
Q: What's the best thing about riding for a living?
A: The amazing travel opportunities that come with it! In the past year for example, I was lucky to have had a really nice mix of competitive opportunities, coaching/training trips and photo trips all over the world. I've traveled to places like Indonesia, Hawaii, Costa Rica, all over Europe, Jersey. Over the years I have also traveled to many other wonderful places such as Australia, NZ, South Africa, Brazil, California, Morocco and more.
Q: Who do you enjoy riding with the most, and why?
A: There are loads of people who I love surfing with depending on where I am. At home, it has to be the regular local crew in Bundoran and particularly my friend Shauna. The UK girls are super fun to surf with on surf trips and at comps when I'm away from home. There aren't many female surfers in Ireland so it's cool to surf with other girls when I travel. There's always a lot more laughter, silliness and fun out there!
Q: Other than home, where is your favorite place to ride, and why?
A: I have been lucky enough to travel to the Telo Island chain in Indonesia twice now. It's just amazing. Sleeping on a boat or on a tiny little island and surfing in the sun in my bikini in perfect waves is seriously like living in a dream for 10 days! It's stunning over there.
Q: What are your main goals and plans for the next 12 months?
A: I'm super excited about 2010, and my goals are probably the most ambitious ones I have ever set myself! It's going to be a busy year and it will include competing in the 4 different 6 star WQS events which are to be held in Europe. I would like to finish in the top 5 on the European Pro Tour. I'll also be competing with the Irish Surf Team at the World Surfing Games in Peru in October, and I'm aiming for a top 8 finish there. I would also like to defend my Irish title and win the British national title this year. I also plan to travel on a number of coaching/training and photo/video trips this year in between competitions. I find that it's really important to keep a healthy balance between competitive surfing, training for surfing and free-surfing. Maintaining this balance helps me to stay relaxed, focused, and to be prepared for when I am competing. When I'm relaxed and enjoying my surfing I perform so much better in competition. And I am really having heaps of fun with my surfing at the minute. That is what it's all about after all, isn't it!?
Q: How do you see your sport evolving in the next few years?
A: Female surfing is in a really exciting place right now. The standard has taken a huge jump in recent years and I love watching the likes of Stephanie Gilmore, Carissa Moore, Sally Fitzgibbons and Silvana Lima pushing the boundaries to a whole new level! I think that these top girls will help to raise the bar of female surfing and this will drive others to lift their own standards too. I know that it really drives me harder to improve my own surfing.
Q: Have you got any plans to film a new video part, and if yes, with which film company?
A: No formal plans as of yet, but I am talking to one or two people. I know that I definitely want to accumulate more video clips over the next year. There aren't many videos out there featuring UK/Irish or mainland European females. It would be cool to be a part of changing that.
Q: What do you do for fun when you are not riding?
A: I love to train for surfing by running, working out in the gym, doing hot yoga and spinning classes. I also love to hang out with my family and friends, eating good home-cooked food and enjoying a nice glass of French red wine like a Saumur!
Q: What achievement are you most proud of so far in your career?
A: That's a hard one to narrow down. I would say being nominated for Irish Sportswoman of the Year based on an accumulation of my surfing achievements over the years. This nomination was cool as I was nominated with 11 other really successful and more mainstream female athletes. I was the only non-mainstream sportsperson there, alongside the likes of International soccer players and Olympic athletes. It was really great to see the sport of surfing acknowledged by a mainstream awards ceremony.
Q: If you didn't ride for a living, what would you have liked to be doing now for an occupation?
A: As well as being a professional surfer, I am also a fully qualified physiotherapist. I graduated in 2007, having balanced my surfing and studies over a 5 year period in Ireland.
Q: What trick do you enjoy the most?
A: Easy question: barrels! Living in Bundoran in Ireland, we have a number of waves where the barrel rides are just amazing, and I'm really starting to get into them now!
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world
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- title: Multiple Irish & UK Champion
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- year: 0
- title: Irish Sportswoman of the Year Nomination
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