meet bea greenberg

move with huku

6 golds and a silver

What a year it's been for Donegal surfer, Bea Greenberg. Fresh from a hat-trick of All-Ireland wins, Bea has added some serious accomplishments to her bow this year, including U16 All Ireland Girls Shortboard Champion, U18 All Ireland Womens Longboard Champion, as well as the U17 Girls All Ireland Windsurfing Champion. Phew! But as Bea says herself, nothing comes easy. We speak to her on training hard with her coach Triona Nic Meanaman and her two teams, Rossnowlagh Surf Club and Donegal Surf Lifesaving team.

Can you tell us how you got into surfing?

I got into surfing through my dad. When I was younger my dad used to leave the house and come back hours later with a big smile on his face and I said to myself “I want that”. So when I was a baby my dad used to take me out in ankle deep water and it started from there.

I tried other sports. I did Irish dancing in primary school as well as swimming and
surf lifesaving (which I still do). I was in scouts and I was in a cycling club too. But ultimately none of them were surfing. I love the outdoors and since I live in such a beautiful place I want to be able to enjoy it. In the outdoors I feel free and surfing in the ocean is the best feeling in the world. My dad says "the area we live in is an outdoor playground" and I’m inclined to agree.

describe a typical day in the life of bea

A typical day for myself during the winter is going to school and getting good grades. I swim on Tuesdays and Fridays with Tonnta Swim School and use my Huku boards as often as I can. After I get home I do my homework and then after that if I'm lucky I get to go surfing. Now that the clocks have gone back I won’t get time to go surfing because it’s dark so early. Weekends are my time to shine during the winter months.

tell us about how you pre-comp training?

My pre-training consists of a lot of time in the ocean. During the summer the Surf Lifesaving takes place and we train twice a week in Marble Hill and three times a week in Rossnowlagh. I am lucky that I work on the beach with Jaws Watersports during the summer so I can train every day before work as well as with my team. When it comes to surfing you have to get out as much as you can. It’s also important to make sure your core and arms are strong because that's what you mainly use when surfing. To keep me in shape my coach Triona Nic Meanaman gives me workout sheets that I can do with my Huku board. It does take a lot of work but it's so worth it at the end of the day.

you’ve been a Huku ambassador for 2 years now. how's that been?

Huku are the best group of people to work with. I love how they are environmentally friendly and Cathal is the best to work with (maybe one day I will get him back surfing in the water!). To be honest I use all the Huku balance boards, I don't have a favourite because they all do different things. I like doing my workouts on the Core Fit because it makes it more challenging. I like the Original to show off to my friends and family the cool tricks I can do. And I like the Huku Nalu Balance Board because it helps me with my cross stepping which I find very challenging.

what makes surfing in Donegal and Ireland so special?

Donegal is a beautiful place. The water is clean and there are small crowds. The people in the water surfing are super nice and respectful. Ireland is my favourite place. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.