Singapore surfer Camille Spaccarotella eyes podium finish on Asian Games debut

The 21-year-old will make history as the country's first surfer to compete at the continental Games, marking a new high in a journey that began during a family beach holiday in Bali a decade ago.

Camille Spaccarotella will make history as Singapore’s first surfer to compete at the Asian Games, marking a new high in a journey that began during a family beach holiday in Bali a decade ago. (Image: CNA)

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SINGAPORE: Singapore surfer Camille Spaccarotella is eyeing a podium finish at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan, where the sport will make its debut at the continental Games.

The 21-year-old will also make history as Singapore’s first surfer to compete at the Asian Games, marking a new high in a journey that began during a family beach holiday in Bali a decade ago.

Drawn to the thrill of riding the waves, what began as a holiday pastime soon became a passion and, eventually, a serious sporting pursuit.

But her first taste of competition did not quite go to plan.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less “I did my first ever competition in 2020, I believe, but obviously it was not a very serious one,” said Spaccarotella. “I was so stressed during that competition, I didn't catch a single wave in my heat. So I decided maybe this is not for me.” A couple of years later, she gave competitive surfing another shot at a local event in Bali and finished third.

“I did my first ever competition in 2020, I believe, but obviously it was not a very serious one,” said Spaccarotella.

“I was so stressed during that competition, I didn't catch a single wave in my heat. So I decided maybe this is not for me.”

A couple of years later, she gave competitive surfing another shot at a local event in Bali and finished third.

TRAINING AWAY FROM HOME

Her first major milestone came soon after.

In June 2023, Spaccarotella donned Singapore colours at the Asian Surfing Championships in the Maldives, narrowly missing out on a podium finish.

With almost no natural surf spots in Singapore to train at, Bali has become her main training ground.

She spends up to four months a year there, putting in hours on the waves as she works to sharpen her skills.

Competitions in India, South Korea and the Philippines have also taken her beyond familiar waters and exposed her to more experienced surfers from across the region.

“It not only changed the way I surfed and how I approached surfing, but it also allowed me to discover more parts of the world and connect with different people in the surf community as well,” she said.

“They have been competing for years, and they've gained so much experience and knowledge in this domain that they were very willing to share what they had learned.”

GROWING SURFING IN SINGAPORE

In 2024, Spaccarotella became Singapore’s first surfer to qualify for the Asian Games. Now, she has her sights set on a medal.

The surfing competition at the Asian Games will begin on Sep 25 in Tahara, Japan, with competitors from regional powerhouses including Japan and Indonesia expected to be among the strongest contenders.

“I do want to have a podium finish. That is my aim for this,” she said. “But at the same time, I need to also recognise that this is a huge step in my athletic career as well, and I'm just really grateful for that.”

She hopes her journey can make waves beyond the competition and inspire a new generation to pick up a surfboard.

One obstacle is the lack of consistent, ocean-like waves for surfers to train on at home.

Spaccarotella believes a purpose-built wave pool could help change that, pointing to South Korea as an example of how such infrastructure can help develop the sport in a country without abundant natural surf.

“What the next step could be is really to bring in a proper wave pool that generates ocean-like waves, and that's what will bring in, I think, a new generation of surfers here,” she said.

“It could be a huge game changer … and more people would be willing to try the sport.”

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这位 21 岁的年轻人将创造历史，成为该国首位参加洲际运动会的冲浪运动员，这标志着他十年前在巴厘岛与家人度假时开启的冲浪之旅达到了新的高峰。

卡米尔·斯帕卡罗泰拉将成为新加坡首位参加亚运会的冲浪运动员，创造历史，这也标志着她十年前在巴厘岛与家人度假时开启的冲浪之旅达到了新的高峰。（图片：CNA）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：新加坡冲浪运动员卡米尔·斯帕卡罗泰拉 (Camille Spaccarotella) 的目标是在即将到来的日本亚运会上登上领奖台，冲浪运动将在本届亚运会上首次亮相。

这位 21 岁的年轻人还将创造历史，成为新加坡首位参加亚运会的冲浪运动员，这标志着他十年前在巴厘岛与家人度假时开启的冲浪之旅达到了新的高峰。

冲浪带来的刺激感深深吸引了他，最初只是度假时的消遣，但很快就发展成为一种爱好，最终成为一项严肃的体育运动。

但她第一次参加比赛的经历并不如预期般顺利。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小小的谜题，却蕴藏着巨大的脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 “我记得我第一次参加比赛是在2020年，但显然那不是一场正式的比赛，”斯帕卡罗特拉说道。“那次比赛我压力很大，小组赛里一个浪都没冲到。所以我当时就想，也许冲浪不适合我。” 几年后，她再次尝试竞技冲浪，参加了巴厘岛的一场当地赛事，并获得了第三名。

“我记得我第一次参加比赛是在 2020 年，但显然那不是一场非常正式的比赛，”斯帕卡罗泰拉说道。

“那次比赛我压力太大了，预赛里一个浪都没冲到。所以我当时就想，也许这项运动不适合我。”

几年后，她再次尝试参加竞技冲浪比赛，在巴厘岛的一项当地赛事中获得第三名。

异地训练

她的第一个重要里程碑很快到来。

2023 年 6 月，斯帕卡罗特拉代表新加坡参加了在马尔代夫举行的亚洲冲浪锦标赛，但遗憾地与领奖台擦肩而过。

由于新加坡几乎没有天然冲浪地点可供训练，巴厘岛已成为她的主要训练基地。

她每年有长达四个月的时间待在那里，在海浪上花费大量时间磨练自己的技能。

在印度、韩国和菲律宾举行的比赛也让她走出了熟悉的领域，接触到了来自该地区更有经验的冲浪者。

“它不仅改变了我冲浪的方式和对待冲浪的态度，还让我有机会发现世界更多的地方，并与冲浪社区的不同人士建立联系，”她说。

“他们多年来一直在竞争，在这个领域积累了丰富的经验和知识，因此他们非常愿意分享自己所学到的东西。”

新加坡冲浪运动蓬勃发展

2024年，斯帕卡罗泰拉成为新加坡首位获得亚运会参赛资格的冲浪运动员。如今，她的目标是赢得一枚奖牌。

亚运会冲浪比赛将于9月25日在日本田原市开幕，来自日本和印度尼西亚等地区强国的选手预计将成为最强劲的竞争者之一。

“我的确想登上领奖台，这是我的目标，”她说。“但与此同时，我也必须意识到，这对我来说也是运动生涯中的一大步，对此我非常感激。”

她希望自己的经历能够超越比赛本身，激励新一代人拿起冲浪板。

其中一个障碍是，冲浪者在家附近缺乏类似海洋的稳定波浪进行训练。

斯帕卡罗泰拉认为，专门建造的人造冲浪池可以帮助改变这种状况，他以韩国为例，说明这种基础设施如何帮助在没有丰富天然冲浪资源的国家发展这项运动。

“下一步或许可以考虑建造一个真正的人造冲浪池，制造类似海洋的波浪，我认为这将吸引新一代的冲浪爱好者来到这里，”她说。

“这可能会带来巨大的改变……更多的人会愿意尝试这项运动。”

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