Young achiever: Winter Vincent – surfer and ocean advocate

Fifteen-year-old Winter Vincent is one of Australia’s fastest rising young surf stars as well as the founder of Surf to School Day.

Here, the young philanthropist chats to Holidays with Kids about surfing, protecting our oceans and providing clean water to those in need.

You are one of Australia’s rising surf stars. What are your proudest accomplishments and career highlights? Every time I win a contest I am proud. The most recent win was the air show at the Julian Wilson Invitational in Coolum, Queensland.

Surfing must take you to some incredible places around the world, where’s the most amazing place you’ve been so far? In 2017 I got to travel around the world for the whole year and live in amazing places for a month at a time. I loved living in Hawaii, Tahiti, Indonesia, California and France.

What has travel taught you about protecting our oceans? Our oceans have no borders. I can be surfing around some remote and beautiful islands in Indonesia, and rubbish floats by. Trash can travel from hundreds of kilometres away and end up in paradise.

As well as a surfer, you’re a philanthropist. You were only nine years old when you launched Surf to School Day. Can you tell us about that? When I was nine I heard about Waves for Water and saw pro surfers delivering water filters to remote surfing destinations on World Water Day. They showed me that you can surf perfect waves and give back to the communities you visit. I found out that one in five kids under the age of five dies from drinking dirty water in Indonesia. I couldn’t believe this. I wanted to make a difference. And I wanted other kids to have a platform that would help them make a difference, too. It had to be fun. So I launched Surf to School Day. Since then, more than 30 schools have hosted one and raised over $40,000 for clean water programs in the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia.

You are Surfrider Australia’s youngest Ambassador, what can you share with our readers about this program? Surfrider was started by surfers who wanted to protect the ocean and its coastlines throughout the world. As a surfer, you are in touch with the ocean and know how special and important it is. They have campaigns to reduce plastic pollution and to protect parts of the ocean that should be made national parks.

You are also a proud ambassador of Waves for Water. Can you tell us about the work Waves for Water is doing around the world? Waves for Water has one goal: to get clean drinking water to those who need it. Clean drinking water is a basic human right, but one in nine people in the world don’t have it. They aim to change this through water filtration systems, well restoration and rain harvesting.

You’re so busy! How do you fit everything around schooling? I do Distance Education, so I can travel and surf and still get a really good education.

What do you say to other kids who think they’re too young to make a difference? You are never too young to make a difference. I wrote a speech when I was nine called “Kids Can Make A Difference”. Now I’m 15 and I really know it is possible if you believe strongly about something and just give it a go. Ask for help. Back yourself and go for it.

How and where can our readers go to learn more about you and help contribute to your causes? You can find out more at wintervincent.com

This article originally appeared in Holidays with Kids magazine. To subscribe to the latest issue, click here.

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