As the child of windsurfing-loving parents, Nia was practically born with a love of the sea. She lives just five minutes from the beach in the surfing paradise of Tarifa, where she makes the most of every day with a good wind. Nia stood on a board for the first time in 2011, when she was just four years old. In recent years, the daughter of a German mother and a Spanish father has also competed in contests and came third in the youth contest at world champion Victor Fernandez's centre in Almerimar.
However, Nia Suardiaz is proving to be an absolute high-flyer, especially when it comes to wingfoiling, her new passion. At the start of the GWA Tour season in Leucate, she took victory in freestyle - in only her second contest ever. In wind speeds of 20 to 30 knots, Nia Suardiaz put in an impressive performance: she nailed eight out of eleven trick attempts, performed frontside 540s and other moves and was able to beat her Czech rival Paula Novotna in the final. She also showed her exceptional talent in the slalom and skied up to third place.
Reason enough to introduce the 15-year-old in an interview!
Nia, you are obviously active in many water sports. Tell us a bit about how you got into water sports and what sports you do today?
The water sports thing is definitely due to the fact that both my parents are fanatical windsurfers, love surfing and love the water. What's more, we live in the absolute windsurfing Mecca of Tarifa and are only 5 minutes away from the beach. There is almost always wind here and in winter there are also lots of great wave days. I got into wingfoiling through a family friend who really wanted her daughter to do a course and it was much easier to motivate her when she knew I was going. The owner of Adrenalin Kite Area always motivated me right from the start and let me try out equipment.
Your parents come from Germany and Spain. Do you live in Tarifa all year round or do you still have a base in Germany?
We live in Tarifa all year round and also go to school here. In the summer, we often visit my mum's family and friends in Germany.
Is your whole family crazy about water sports? Do you go out on the water together a lot or does everyone have their own preferences and do their own thing?
Yes, we all love water sports and go out on the water together as often as we can.
What does your everyday life in Tarifa look like outside of water sports?
Of course I have to go to school, which is always from 8.15 am to 2.45 pm during the week. Then we have lunch and usually go to the beach in the afternoon. If there's no wind and no waves, we also like to go mountain biking - there are great routes here - or I go horse riding with a friend.
What determines which sport you choose? When in doubt, do you prefer wingsurfing or windsurfing?
I now much prefer wingfoiling, it's my absolute favourite and I can't get enough. I have nice friends here who I go out on the water with and Michi Rossmeier (Author of the Windsurf, Kite and Wing Tricktionary, editor's note.) is often there, motivates us, trains us and gives us great tips.
What role do competitions play for you? Is it more fun or are you quite ambitious and don't like to lose?
I really enjoy it, so many people motivate me and are willing to help. But of course I'm also ambitious and I'm really happy when I finish on the podium. However, I also know that you can't always be at the front and that there are better and worse days.
Do you have specific goals in terms of competitions or are you even aiming for a professional career in a sport?
I will be riding in the GWA World Tour this year and we will try to ride or fly to as many competitions as possible. I'm particularly motivated and super happy at the moment, as we've just come home from the first World Cup in Leucate and I'm competing in the women's event. 1st place in freestyle and 3rd place in slalom have. At the Spanish championships a month ago, I took first place in both the women's freestyle and race categories. I still can't really believe it and am now all the more motivated to perfect my moves and learn new ones.
What moves are you currently practising in windsurfing and wingfoiling and what tricks can you already hook behind?
I'm good at windsurfing in all conditions. I'd love to learn to loop, but I'm not sure if I'll be doing much windsurfing. Wingfoiling motivates me much more. I do Raley, 360, 540, Toeside 360, Radiculo, Backwind 360 and I want to learn 720, backflip and frontflip.
Here in Tarifa, I almost always go out on the water with the boys my age. I hope that more girls will start wingfoiling in the future.
The equipment is not cheap, especially if you do a lot of different water sports. Who supports you in terms of equipment and travelling?
So far, our parents have always been the ones who have supported us and paid for windsurfing equipment and trips. From time to time we have also received older windsurfing boards from friends. My parents love travelling and water sports, so we've been on the road quite a lot. In recent years, we've often travelled to the Canary Islands, where we have lots of friends and go out on the water together. Bernd and Suzette from Adrenalin Kite/Wing Area Tarifa helped me with wingfoiling at the beginning and let me try out equipment. Since the end of last year, I've had Fanatic, Duotone and ION as equipment sponsors. They have also promised to give me some support when I am travelling.
How do you feel about the current situation at competitions? Are there a lot of girls your age or do you sometimes feel like a lone wolf?
In general, there aren't always that many girls at the competitions, that was already the case in windsurfing and now in wingfoiling there are very, very few at my age. But the older girls or women at the competitions are very nice to me and motivate me. Here in Tarifa, I almost always go out on the water with the guys my age. As Xavi Corr and River Moore also compete, for example, we motivate each other to learn new moves, have lots of fun and Michi then gives us feedback. I'm also often in the water with Jaime from WET Tarifa and he gives me lots of good tips, especially in the waves.
Thank you Nia for the interview and have fun on the water.
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