World Surf League Raglan: Carissa Moore happy to represent mums with latest Championship Tour win
Carissa Moore and daughter Olena Lililehua Untermann are up the path by Moore's husband, Luke Untermann (left), and father Chris Moore after her win in Raglan. Photo / Photosport
Reflecting on her triumphant return to New Zealand waters, Carissa Moore admitted she had noticed a shift.
After taking a two-year hiatus from the World Surf League Championship Tour, the five-time world champion returned this year as a wildcard with life outside of surfing looking a little different.
The 33-year-old returned to the tour as a mother and, after clinching her first event win of the season at the New Zealand Pro in Raglan, the Hawaiian said she had noticed she was now getting a lot of support from fellow mothers.
“I have and I’m so proud. I have a full different support group now with all the mums, and it’s such a cool club to be a part of that you don’t really understand until you join it yourself,” Moore told the Herald.
“You don’t even need to say anything and you see another mum and you’re like, ‘I understand you. I feel what you’re going through.’ I do feel like not only am I surfing for my family, but I am surfing for hopefully all those mums out there who, I know for myself, I had this narrative in my head that my dreams were over and I wasn’t going to be able to do it in the same way.
“And I am not able to do it the same way. It looks so different, but I do want to hopefully encourage all those mums that if you want to keep dreaming, you can.”
Moore has been a staple contender on the world’s top surfing tour since her rookie campaign in 2010, where she claimed her first-ever event win in Taranaki.
Her win in Raglan was the 29th of her career, but it was a position she admitted she wasn’t sure she would find herself in again after taking time away from the sport.
Moore, who has now featured in four finals in five events in New Zealand with two wins, was the form surfer of the competition. She posted the top heat score in every round of the women’s draw and had at least one excellent scoring wave in all of her heats.
The final, against 20-year-old American Sawyer Lindblad, was a spectacle as the pair put on a show for the crowd. Both posted big totals, including a score in the nine-point range.
Reflecting on the result, Moore said there was a different feeling to this competition win.
“I think when you step away and don’t have the jersey for two years, it changes your whole perspective on what this means to you. I think it’s given me more gratitude for the sport and being a part of these events, but it’s also given me another appreciation for just my life in general and also given me peace to know like, ‘hey, when this is all done, I have a great life to return to and keep living.’
“That freedom has been so nice. Obviously, having a child now, the dynamic is different, the preparation looks different. I used to be like the first one out in the mornings to warm up, and now I’m just coming down an hour and a half before my heat and going for it.
“I think just finding confidence in new ways and trying to trust myself, and have faith in the process and giving myself more space to make mistakes that I didn’t used to. So it definitely feels different and way more joyful, way more rewarding. Having this all come together was so special.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.