Surfing Champion 

Throughout the year, hundreds of 14-year-old female surfers (wahines) compete in their district competitions for the right to win a spot in one of the heats at the Eastern Surfing Championship, the top event for surfers from Maine to Florida. So aside from the 32 top wahines she faced that day, Wrightsville’s Skylar Rose Steinmetz out-surfed hundreds of others to become the 2023 Eastern Surfing Association Shortboard Girls U14 Champion.

The Eastern regional was held September 17-21 at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, North Carolina. Skylar Rose was also awarded the Iron Woman and she placed third in the Girls U18s longboard division and fourth in the Girls U16s shortboard division. The win secures her a spot at the Nationals in California, June 2024. She has qualified twice before to compete in the Nationals.

Skylar Rose started surfing at Wrightsville Beach as a child for fun with her dad, Carlton Steinmetz, but she now gives the sport all the attention any serious athlete puts into their training.

“I usually get up at 5 a.m. and it is 5:45 or 6 by the time I get out in the water to surf the sunrise,” the 14-year-old champion says.

She typically surfs for three hours or more. To keep in top shape, she also does CrossFit workouts to increase endurance, skateboards, and plays tennis. Home-schooling allows for flexibility in her schedule.

“Home-schooling started during Covid, and we just decided to keep doing it three years ago,” Carlton says. 

She enjoys surfing Wrightsville Beach, but also loves to travel. She does a lot of training at Avon Pier in the Outer Banks and enjoys a couple of visits each year to Surf Waco in Texas to try out new tricks on mechanically induced waves.

“I like surfing Waco wave pool. They offer many different wave selections. One wave allows you to practice your turns, another allows you to get barreled, and the third wave allows you to work on your air game,” Skylar Rose says.

Waco Surf is a wave pool and wakeboard cable waterpark located out in the country. It used to be a site for trick water skiing.

“All the professional surfers go there to practice getting air and doing big turns. It’s very popular,” Carlton says.

Skylar Rose said that she prefers shortboarding, but longboarding is a backup when the waves are small.

“A longboard is just something fun to do. You can ride it longer and catch more waves. You’ll do more tricks. If the waves are small, you can get a better ride on a longboard. You can cross step, nose ride, do hang fives, hang 10,” she explains.

Surfing has its ups and downs. Dealing with marine life can be challenging.

“I’ve been stung by jellyfish lots of times. I was surfing in New Smyrna Beach (Florida) where there’s lots of sharks. It’s like the shark bite capital of the U.S. where you see sharks swim under you. I’ve been hit by one. I was walking out, and its tail or something hit my thigh,” she says.

She recalls a trip to California when the sea lions were plentiful.

“I was paddling out and a sea lion popped its head up at me. It was a bit scary,” she says with a laugh. 

Competition days can be very long, up to 16 heats with some of them back-to-back. At the Eastern Championship, she participated in five heats for the win.

At most events, there are four surfers out in a 15-minute heat. Only one surfer is allowed to catch a single wave. They all take turns. Usually, the top two surfers go on to the next heat and so on.

On those long days, she says it’s important to rest between heats, stay hydrated, eat something nutritious, and relax but stay ready for the next start.

She hopes to become a professional surfer and is headed in the right direction.

“USA Surfing Association is the next level for all the kids like Skylar Rose, up to 17 or 18 years old to qualify. It is the next level for amateurs. Then the World Circuit League is top level professionals,” Carlton explains.

Skylar Rose is a team rider for Sweetwater Surfshop and is also a member of the Wrightsville Beach Boardriders. She says she is fortunate to have Jo Pickett as her surfing mentor.

Follow her journey via Instagram @skythesurfergirl.