Teenage surfer Erin Brooks really is riding the crest of a wave these days.
Brooks, a wild-card entry, became the first Canadian woman to win on the World Surf League's elite Championship Tour, defeating Olympic silver medallist Tatiana Weston-Webb in the final of the 2024 Fiji Pro in August.
Books recorded another Canadian first earlier this month, winning promotion to the 2025 Championship Tour after finishing fourth overall in the second-tier Challenger Series season standings — helped in part by a win at the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro and runner-up finish at GWM Sydney Surf Pro in May in Australia.
The Challenger Series victory saw her score her a perfect 10 en route to the final.
Brooks is also featured in an episode of "Keeping Up With the Canadians," a promotional series produced by Visit California that showcases notable Canadians in the Golden State.
"This year has been so amazing," Brooks said from Oceanside, which serves as the family's California home. "There's been so many highs for me … It's been so amazing and so much fun. I'm so excited to see what the future holds."
Brooks also gained her Canadian citizenship in 2024.
Born in Texas and raised in Hawaii, Brooks has Canadian ties through her American-born father Jeff, who is a dual American-Canadian citizen, and her grandfather who was born and raised in Montreal.
Brooks' application for Canadian citizenship was initially rejected. But Immigration Minister Marc Miller had a change of heart after a December ruling by Ontario's Superior Court of Justice that it is unconstitutional for Canada to deny automatic citizenship to the children of foreign-born Canadians who grew up abroad.
The Brooks family then refiled their application under a hardship status, based on the recommendation of the Immigration Department, to accelerate the process. Brooks was sworn in as a Canadian citizen in January.
"I know that I have Canadian blood and it was one thing that made me feel closer to my family. And it was kind of tough getting denied a few times, but now that I have it I'm just so excited about that," she said.
"It was a bummer that the Olympics didn't go the way I wanted to, but I'm just so stoked with what the rest of the year had for me."
Her citizenship legal battle limited her Olympic qualifying opportunities to the ISA World Surfing Games in March in Puerto Rico. Brooks fell short and had to watch the Olympic surfing competition in Tahiti from afar.
"A lot of my friends were competing and I was cheering for them, especially my Canadian teammate Sanoa Olin," she said.
The 12-event Championship Tour season kicks off in January, with Brooks looking to visit some of the competition sites in advance to test out the waters. The opening event in Hawaii is followed by stops in the United Arab Emirates, El Salvador Portugal, Australia (three events), San Clemente, Calif., Brazil, South Africa, French Polynesia and Fiji
"They call it the Dream Tour for a reason," Brooks said.
Her collection of surfboards travel the globe with her in a specially made bag, which can fit six-plus boards.
"But you've got to make sure you put some good padding around it or else they'll get broken," she said.
She won in Fiji the hard way. As a wild card, she was handed a tough draw but showed her mettle by defeating world No. 1 Caity Simmers in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Molly Picklum in the semifinals.
"I was just so excited to be there and be around all those people that I've looked up to and wanted to compete with for so long," Brooks said.
Brooks booked her ticket to the WSL Championship Tour by winning her heat in the round of 32 at the Corona Saquarema Pro in Brazil. The top five women in the Challenger Series secure promotion to the top tier.
In making it to the Championship Tour, Brooks won a wager she had made with her father at the beginning of the season. A happy loser, he shaved his shaggy head and bushy beard.
"Now he looks like a completely different person," said Brooks.
There have been hardships for the Brooks family along the way, however.
Their home in Lahaina on Maui burned down during the 2023 Hawaii wildfires and Brooks' mother has been battling cancer, although Erin says she is now doing well.
"Just seeing a smile on her face, that makes my Dad and I feel really good about where she's heading," said Brooks.
The family now calls Tofino, B.C., home when not on the road or in California. Brooks's older brother, 26-year-old Jacob, serves in the Coast Guard.
School is behind her for now. Home schooled while she competed, Brooks graduated from high school last year.
Away from the water, Brooks likes to skateboard or spend time with her family and Golden Retriever puppy Jimmy.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
