Josie Hawke | Surfer

2025 so far has been amazing for Josie, and she continues to make fantastic progress with her surfing.

The Welsh National Championships were split into two events: all juniors (U16S) and U18S and above. Josie competed in the U16S held at Freshwater West. Initially, with clean surf in the 3ft range, conditions became challenging with onshore winds, but in the Girls U16S, Josie took a convincing win, also claiming the prize for the highest single wave score of the event.

Next up was the Rip Curl Grom search, held at Croyde Bay, Devon. This is one of the biggest events of the year, and unfortunately, it clashed with the 2nd part of the Welsh Open. Josie chose to do the Grom Search to challenge herself against the best in the UK. This meant she would not be able to defend her Welsh U18S and Welsh Open titles. A tough choice, but a good one, as she went on to win the event and will now surf at the European Grom Search finals for the 2nd time, dates and venue to be confirmed (somewhere in France in Sept/Oct).

This year, the Welsh Surfing Federation has launched a Junior Surf Series with four events around Wales. The first event was held at Coney Beach in Porthcawl. The four events will all count towards an overall winner at the end of the series. Josie started the series on the front foot, taking first place and maximum points. The following events are scheduled for Sept/Oct.

The Boardmasters Juniors 2025 was another big one for Josie, and her first time in the event. Twenty-four selected UK Junior girls do battle at Fistral Beach, the event runs alongside a World Surf League qualifying Series event. Josie thrived in this environment, feeding off the high standard. A very busy Friday saw her compete in three heats in a day, mostly dominating and negotiating a tough heat draw, but importantly, making it to Finals day, giving herself a chance at the title.

Finals Day saw sunshine and good waves at low tide; Fistral had big crowds on the beach, and commentators were heard loud and clear on the speakers. Finding the good waves was challenging, and all four girls battled hard. Josie was up there! Pressing for the win, but slipped down into third with minutes to go. Catching what would be her last wave and opportunity during the final, she had to go for it. Josie completed the wave with a backhand smash, and the clock ticked down, whilst the judges deliberated the score. The score wasn’t enough to take the win, but it did push her back into second.

Josie was so pleased with her efforts, and many people commented on how she conducts herself during these events.