Girls thrilled by surfwear deal | Coolum News | Local News in Coolum

Hive Swimwear director Kat Hogg knows all about a good fit, and believes two young Coolum surfers she has just signed up are a great fit for her national brand.

Coolum High School girls Tahla Hammond and Isabella Nichols now wear Hive gear, surf on Hive boards and receive training programs and injury management from an Olympic physiotherapist.

Ms Hogg said Tahla, 15, and Isabella, 12, met the criteria of active, healthy beach girls that the Noosa-based company was looking for.

“Tahla has surf lifesaving in her background and, with her surfing crossover, she really does embody that surfer-girl kind of image,” she said.

“Isabella is just starting to come up into the ranks and she’s been competing in a few junior championships and doing really well.

“Both of them are just lovely girls. They obviously come from very good families.

“They’re just the embodiment of everything that we feel is the image of the Hive girls.”

The Hive range was a blend of fashion and function, she said, with the swimwear designed to stay put even while women and girls were “doing extreme sports and playing hard”.

Tahla, who also excels at skating and soccer, said her friends thought it was “cool” she had achieved a surfing sponsorship.

“They think it’s pretty good because I get free togs,” she said.

“It’s pretty good because I haven’t been surfing for that long, so it’s making me surf more.

“And I just got a new board, so I’m surfing even more now.”

Tahla’s mum Trudi said she was proud of her daughter.

“She’s talented at everything she does,” she said.

Isabella has enjoyed a head-spinning list of successes in the past six months.

She finished first in her age group in the Coolum Surf School Surfabout, third in the Rip Curl GromSearch on the Gold Coast and fourth in the Sunshine Coast Wahu Surfer Groms Comp.

In the Joel Parkinson Curra Grom Comp she tied for first but was relegated to second on a countback and, in the Yaroomba Classic, she came fourth in the under-16 girls’ division.

Isabella’s mum Lisbeth said surfing was her daughter’s passion.

“We’re very thrilled for her. We’re very happy that she’s come a long way in a short time,” she said.

“We just want her to have fun. That’s what it’s all about. She’s still very young.”

Lisbeth paid tribute to Coolum Primary School teacher and surfing coordinator Erica Henderson.

“Erica has been fantastic. She’s done so much for Isabella,” she said.

“She’s the one that started her with all the competitions.”