Having qualified for the 2025 International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championship, Luca Thompson’s focus will be on surfing and fundraising.
In the lead up to the world champs, 15-year-old Luca is unlikely to have any problems with his training regime, which will include as much time in the ocean as possible.
And when the waves aren’t pumping, he’ll hit The Refinery dojo under the guidance of his trainer Johnny Rickard to keep up his physical and mental fitness.
The 47-year-old credits Luca with his own surfing journey, which, for someone who grew up in Whāingaroa, only began a couple of years ago
“Luca was instrumental in helping me learn how to surf. The relationship is reciprocal, in terms of me helping him physically and mentally here in the dojo. And he’s really helped me out; taking me out in the waves, showing me how to jump off the jump rock, how to surf at Whale Bay and at Indy’s.”
To thank Luca for helping him out in the surf, Johnny has made it his mission to get the young surfer to the worlds.
“Getting to the worlds ends up being quite costly so we’ve established a Give-A Little page for people to donate some funds to Luca’s campaign. I’ve got JC from Raglan Surf Emporium helping out with the boards and Luca’s gear. And our dojo will sponsor Luca’s equipment for his trip,” Johnny says.
While Luca is at the top of his surfing game, it hasn’t always been a smooth ride.
Sadly, the salt water under his wetsuit played havoc on his eczema as a young fella and it wasn’t until he was seven that the eczema subsided and he was able to take up surfing.
“I always liked the water, I was on my boogie board all the time and I got good at skateboarding and building sand castles, while Jahmin (older brother) and dad would surf,” he laughs. “Luckily my eczema stopped and I’ve been surfing every day since then.”
To the novice, surfing might seem like a solitary sport, but Luca points out that competition surfing and riding the waves with your mates are two very different things.
“In a competition, it’s just you versus the rest but it’s a different vibe when your whole crew is out there and you’re all working together so you can have a good time,” Luca says.
The Raglan Area School Year 11 student is in his first year at the Raglan Surf Academy under the tutelage of Larry Fisher and Deane Hishon.
“Larry and Deane are both pretty good surfers, so they coach us with comps. But there’s also a bit more independent training when it comes to getting ready for comps,” Luca says.
Making his ISA debut, Luca will compete in the Boy’s Under-16 comp along with Raglan surfers Alani Morse (Girl’s U16) and Jacob Haines (Boy’s U18).
The official location and dates of the 2025 junior championship are yet to be confirmed.
Find the Give-a-little link on Instagram @refinery.whaingaroa or https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/asl-world-junior-surf-champs
by Janine Jackson
