By Jake Howard
Pumping south swells in Huntington Beach can be a challenge.
Dodging closeouts and battling a nasty current make for some tough heats, but rising to the occasion at last week’s 2023 West Coast Regional Championships was San Clemente’s Hana Bakker, who took the win in the highly competitive Open Girls under-16 division.
A powerful regular-footer, 15-year-old Bakker has been building to this accomplishment and putting in all the hard work to turn those dreams into a reality. In 2021, she was named to the USA Surfing Olympic Development Program Team and was a fierce member of the Shorecliffs Middle School squad.
These days, you may find Bakker out ripping Lowers with her friends. A savvy road warrior, she’s also keen to spend time in Hawaii and traveling to the wave pool in Waco, Texas for some training sessions.
With the support from Rumaner Surfboards, she’s got some great boards under her feet. And with Cyber Wetsuits supplying her with killer neoprene, she’s been staying nice and toasty despite the cold water temps this winter and spring.
We can’t wait to see what Bakker does this summer.
If you have a candidate for Grom of the Week, we want to know. Send an email to jakehoward1@gmail.com.
Discussion about this post