Joseph Morris, a 13-year-old surfer from Port Talbot, has raised £260 of his £1,500 goal in a single day to help fund his surfing ambitions of competing in California.
Port Talbot’s Joseph Morris hopes to raise enough cash to enable him to compete in an international surf competition in California in October
The talented youngster has been chosen by the Welsh Surfing Federation (WSF) to represent Wales at the 2015 VISSLA International Surfing Association World Junior Surfing Championship. The event is being held in Oceanside, California between 11 – 18 October.
He has used the crowdfunding website Indiegogo to ask for donations.
The funding is crucial to helping Morris take part in the competition. He said, “I can’t believe I have raised this in one day, it’s amazing. I am so grateful for the generosity of the people supporting this and donating.”
Morris has already won both the under 12’s and the under 14’s Welsh Surf Nationals. He also reached the semi finals of the Europeans last year and finished as the highest ranking British surfer of his age category in Europe. Despite this, there remains no other funding available to the 13-year-old.
The lack of funding is something that Morris would like to see improve for the sport.
He said: “Unfortunately there is no funding for surfing. It is a shame because the competition is just as hard as any sport and the athletes train so hard to be the best. If you look at the British surfers competing on the UK pro tour they are super fit, super strong, and so talented.”
He added:“Hopefully one day, now there are wave gardens the sport will move to be a Olympic sport and get some funding.”
To visit Joseph’s fundraising page, Joseph’s Indiegogo page