LA Lucia’s Nicole Pallet is no stranger to the surfing world. The former Danville Park Girls’ High School pupil recently showed her silky smooth moves on the waves to win the RCVA Junior Challenge in Jeffreys Bay, in which she won the U20 girls division. The Varsity College Durban North student, who is juggling her studies with her surfing duties, said this was the best way to make her comeback.

“I struggled last year to balance my sporting life and my student life, so that took a bit of adjusting to. But I’ve been slowly getting back into it. I was so stoked to win this competition, as this was my last one participating as a junior. I wanted to end my time in the U20 division in style and I’m so glad I was able to do that.

“I’ve been working really hard with my coach, Quinton Jones, and it really showed out on the water,” she said.

Pallet beat Crystal Hulett, local favourite Kai Woolf and Robyn Van Der Merwe to the title. Solid four to five-foot pumping surf made for epic conditions in the junior challenge at Lower Point. While the waves offered high scoring potential, the increased size also made for physically demanding conditions with long paddles back up the point.

“The conditions were pretty consistent, which hasn’t been the case over the last few years at J-Bay. But it made for awesome surfing conditions,” Pallet explained.

The 20-year-old, who represented South Africa in the ISA Quiksilver World Junior Surfing championships in Nicaragua in 2013, is hoping to claim a Protea spot ahead of the ASP Tour to Morrocco this year.

“Of course I’d love to have the chance to represent the country on a global stage once again. In Nicaragua I finished 16th in the world, and I would love to surf against international competition again as it helps me develop as a surfer. I’m trying my utmost to get there,” she said.