Filipa Broeiro
In May My girlfriend and I travelled to Portugal to sample some of the finest waves Europe has to offer.
After exploring the coast we decided to stick in Ericeira instead of Peniche.
It just so happened Ericeira Surf Clube were holding a leg of the Dakine Ericeira 2018 competition that weekend,
I thought I would give it a crack after my good friend Andre Hilario talked me into it and also as I hadn't entered a comp in over 20 years in conditions when the surf was absolutely pumping , the sun was out and I had a girlfriend to impress 😉😘😳
It was also cool to hang out with the Van Life Productions crew, Bruno and Mariana Dias.
The comp was run at two waves "The Reef' a right hand super fast, super hollow beast of a wave and then "The Left" equally as hollow with big walls, both super fast and unfriendly with shallow end sctions and not much forgiveness....
Unfortunately I didn't make it through my heat but boy I loved and missed the buzz of contest riding, the standard of Bodyboarding was super high in the mens but the girls standard was outstanding.
As we both sat watching the days heats unfold there was an ever dominating presence in the water pulling off moves on sections you wouldn't want to leading to gasps from both me and the missis.
Un- surprisingly this young female charger took out the comp, so without any more waffle, let me introduce to you the recently crowned female under 18 European bodyboard champion.
"My name is Filipa Broeiro, I´m 17 years old and live in Sintra, one of the most beautiful places in Portugal. I was born here and still live here with my parents.
I first tried Body Boarding when my mathematics teacher, Andreia Passos, who is now my mentor and instructor and also one of my best friends, when he invited me for a surf session.
At the time I was a gymnastic athlete (tumbling) and Body Boarding was just a fun experience to kill some time during summer holidays. But soon I realized the importance of Body Boarding in my life, I decided I would give up gymnastics to dedicate more time into this new sport that soothed me the best.
At that time I didn't think about competition but Action Waves Portugal, my Body Board Academy and it´s main (and still mine) coach, Goncalo Aleman Silva (Portuguese international Body Boarder also known as ESTRELA) started to give a special attention to my skills and made me believe there was a future for me in competing.
In 2016 I participated in several local events, but then 2017 was my first year of official competitions.
I achieved 3 rd place on the national girls championship under 18, I then won the Portuguese Cup for girls Body Boarding under 18 and also some other winnings of local competitions.
During this current competition year I´m in the lead on the national championship Body Boarding under 18 after wining the first two rounds in May (Nazaré – Praia do Norte) and June (Empa Beach – Ericeira)
I am waiting for the next 2 rounds (Póvoa Varzim and Carcavelos).
I also won the Body Boarding Girls under 18 in Euro Surf Junior 2018, my most important title till now.
On my training days I surf on several breaks next to Lisbon such as Costa da Caparica, Carcavelos or Guincho, but my favourites spots are Praia Grande (beach break) and Ericeira (point break and World Surfing Reserve).
I´m thinking about future achievements, but it is very difficult without sponsors.
I have to support hall costs (my parents KKK) and it would be very nice to partner up with a sponsor who was in a position to offer financial support. I hope and pray I can make this dream a reality.
I am very grateful for the support I’ve got from Action Waves and Ericeira Surf Clube and Miramar BodyBoard Shop have been giving me great help with equipment and clothing, It helps a lot but it´s not enough and I dream of more.
My dream is to become a professional and successful body boarder. I´ve got many years ahead and I´ll fight for it as long as it stills pleasurable.
Nothing is good if you don´t get fun from doing it.
Thanks for the catch up LidLife......."
Photo credits include:
Pedro Broeiro
Jansje Badenhorst
and myself
Filipa from what we have seen you have a great career in front of you and we hope to see you soon on the APB tour and maybe you could possibly get through the trials at the Sintra Pro in a few weeks and we could see you in action there, what better platform for you to launch your career on the APB in your home town.......
Thanks for having a chat with us ......
Work permitting I may even get to see the action live 🤞🏻
Next week we stayed in Portugal and we are excited to have caught up with Bernardo Jeronimo, until then......
VAN LIFE PRODUCTIONS
