A chat with Caleb Cutmore from the point boardriders. After winning the Boardriders Club Championships last year, the Point Boardriders have recently returned from Usher Cup – a three-day event that included the best male and female surfers from 23 board rider clubs.
The Usher Cup is a recently-developed club event held at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast of Australia. 2023 marks the first year that the event was international with six countries attending as well as 23 clubs from Australia. The event took place on the 19th – 22nd January and accommodated teams of four from each club in a standard surfing format for males and females with $7,000 going to the winners of each division. Other countries attending included France, Indonesia, Japan, Hawaii and USA.
Jacqui from the Local Rag caught up with Caleb Cutmore who achieved an impressive 7th placing at the international event.
You achieved a very impressive 7th place result, the highest of all the international competitors. Tell us about the recent comp experience.
Yeah I was stoked to make it as far as I did in the competition. It was pretty evident once we got over to the contest that there was a really high level of surfing. I knew that I would have to surf well even to make it through the first round of competition. I enjoy surfing in competitions like this though. There were a few big names and I had nothing to lose, so I just made sure I got two good waves in each heat. I’ve struggled in the past having confidence when surfing overseas, but having the point boardriders team in my corner I felt pretty at home and this helped with the way I surfed.
When and where did you first start surfing? Was surfing in the family?
I think I first surfed at Mount Maunganui on a family holiday. My Dad enjoys surfing, as well as my uncle and cousin (Geoff and Taylor Hutchison). So naturally surfing was a part of my life growing up.
What have been some of the highlights of your surfing career so far?
Over the years I have been fortunate enough to represent the country a few times in international events, so it’s opened up a few opportunities to travel. I think surfing can also encourage quite a healthy lifestyle and it has brought me some quality friendships over the years so I’m pretty thankful for that.
Who do you look to for advice or inspiration within the surfing community ?
Growing up surfing around Raglan there were a few guys that looked out for me when I was younger and had time for me. I think those people inspire me a lot. I also went to the surf academy at Raglan area school, where Larry Fisher and Deane Hishon played roles as mentors in my life. I have continued to keep pretty regular contact with both of them too.
What does life look like in 2023 for you? Are you still at Uni? How do you combine study with getting enough time on the water?
I finished studying at Waikato Uni at the end of last year. I will most likely look at returning in a few years time to complete a postgraduate teaching diploma, but at the moment I am working at Green Wave Surf School and picking up odd jobs. I’m hoping to travel this year and expose myself to different waves around the world, and then I’ll look at committing to the world qualifying series in 2024.
What’s in the pipeline for the year with competitions? What do you hope to achieve?
I’m hoping to compete at all the national surfing events through autumn before heading overseas, and I’ll try win the surfing NZ ratings this year.
What would you say to a young boy who would love to pursue competitive surfing ?
I would just say keep having fun. If you truly enjoy surfing for what it is then it will come naturally. I think a lot of parents push their kids pretty heavily down the surfing path, but it’s not sustainable if the enjoyment isn’t there.
