The 23-year-old from Cardiff has enjoyed an impressive few seasons since joining the WSF in 2017. Nicol is a two time Welsh Nationals Champion, having won the tournament in 2021 and 2022, and has represented both Wales Great Britain in senior Championships.   

How did you get into surfing? 

Coming from Cardiff, none of my mates surfed. It was my dad who was really keen on it.  I remember the first time I surfed; my dad had just bought me my first board before we went down to Porthcawl.  I was just trying it out, but I fell in love with it. For some reason, we had only one board for me and my dad. One of us would stand on the beach while the other went in.  

Can you just tell me a little bit about your career? 

I was never a great junior; I didn’t really stand out. I was probably a bit deluded at times, thinking that I would be good, but I just kept enjoying it, I kept going and one day things started to click. 

I hadn’t won a contest before I was 18. Then I won the junior on the UK Pro Tour, and I won back-to-back Welsh Nationals titles in 2021 and 2022, which allowed me to represent Wales. Surfing for Wales has been a massive privilege. 

The Welsh Nationals titles were a big goal for me when I was younger, but as I got older and my goals shifted, I now want to be one of the best surfers in Europe. 

Last year, I represented Great Britain at the ISA World Games, which is part of the Olympic pathway. So I’ve kind of got my sights set on that route at the moment. There’s plenty of work to be done.  

What do you do when you are not competing? 

I work at the surf school in Porthcawl, on the same beach I got started. It’s nice to give back to the surfing community in Wales. 

I know when I am competing that I get plenty of support, so it’s great to give back and help more people get involved in the sport. 

I remember that feeling, becoming hooked on surfing. Teaching and looking back to those memories gives me plenty of motivation to continue to improve. I think back to those moments and remember why I got involved in surfing in the first place. Competition time can be draining sometimes, so being able to look back is important.  

What motivates you? 

My will to improve is pretty strong. I really love the feeling of getting better at something. 

You get better every time you go surfing, so I really like that part about it. You get out as much as you put in. If you are training a lot, it makes a difference to your surfing, but also, I just love it. Surfing is my passion.  

How do you reflect on your performances over the past few months? 

It’s been a really exciting period. Patrick Langdon-Dark and I represented Great Britain at the World Games back in September. 

There was a massive sense of pride that out of the surfing scene in the UK, two of the three members of that squad were Welsh, which is huge for Welsh surfing. 

I am also currently competing against the best surfers in Europe and I’m aiming to qualify for the World Surf League (WSL) through the European Men’s Qualifying Series. 

I’m competing around Europe, travelling to all the events that I can to acquire enough points to hopefully be within that top seven in Europe so I can compete against the world’s best.  

What’s coming next for you? 

My main focus is to be in the top seven in Europe, but I’ve got a series of little goals that I would like to achieve. Representing Britain again is a big goal.  Becoming a full time professional would be huge for me. I could then travel as much as I can to improve myself and test myself against the world’s best.  

What are your thoughts on the future of Welsh Surfing?  

It’s a really exciting time for Welsh Surfing. We are seeing Welsh surfing businesses, surf shops and surf schools around Wales really growing at the moment. I think we are in a real growth period at the minute, which is great. 

I work in a surf school, so I see the amount of people coming down for lessons and it’s ridiculous. It’s amazing to see, but we need to build on that interest to continue to develop top young surfers to compete. 

As much support as possible needs to be given to those next juniors. There could be a risk of them being forgotten about if a structure isn’t put in place for them, but Welsh surfing is doing a really good job at the moment with the help of British surfing, and you can see the pathway becoming official, which will only help those coming through.