Merewether surfer Jackson Baker will take confidence from his performance under pressure just to make the Challenger Series (CS) when it kicks off next month at Huntington Beach in California.
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The 24-year-old was in the 10th and final Australian/Oceania qualifying spot, on adjusted points, for the CS when the 5000-point Tweed Coast was held in June. As rivals for his position progressed through the event, Baker responded under pressure to make the quarter-finals and rise to eighth.
Baker said the experience at Cabarita Beach has boosted his confidence for the CS events in the US, France, Portugal and Hawaii, which will determine places on the Championship Tour for 2022.
"That was my best result in a five-star and it was under pressure as well, every heat meant something and that was huge for me," Baker said. "There was so much talk about rankings, so I tried to block that out and I think I did that really well.
"It was good to train for that because I guess it's going to be like that on the road. Every heat is going to count to try to make the tour, so it was good to be in that environment and come out on the better end."
Merewether clubmate Philippa Anderson and Redhead-based South African Sarah Baum have also made the new CS, which has presented surfers with financial headaches.
The four-month trip, taking in COVID quarantines, is set to cost each surfer between $20,000-$30,000. Merewether Surfboard Club have started a GoFundMe page for Baker and Anderson, which was at $5800. Baum's page was at $8360.