Surfers inspiring story

Torquay surfer Angela Ball has become one of the Surf Coast’s most inspiring humans both in and out of the water.

From dealing with a cruel illness as a child and into her teens, to riding the huge of waves of Bells Beach in competition, Ball has always faced significant adversity with a huge smile and a never-give-up attitude.

The 21-year-old says the ocean has always been her “happy place.”

Ball’s first interactions with the ocean came at a very young age, riding her first waves at the age of two at Torquay Back Beach.

She said she very quickly gravitated to the feelings and the thrill of being in the water and knew there was going to be no turning back.

“Dad had us all out in the waves when we were really young, and I just always absolutely loved it. I don’t remember ever not loving it.

“He taught me at Torquay, and then we went straight to Bells! It’s his fault I now can’t surf a heat to save myself at Jan Juc!

“I was stoked, though, to be surfing Bells so young.

“Growing up five minutes away really helped with getting into it all, and I just kept at it.”

 

Just as Ball was starting to hit her straps in the ocean, a huge curveball struck that put a dent in her aspirations of chasing surfing as a career.

“I’d really started to get into it with the kids at St Therese Primary School, and then suddenly when I was nine years old, I contracted a golden staph infection in my right leg.

“Before being diagnosed, I remember being in a lot of pain and limping heaps. Dad saw me protecting my leg with lots of things.

“I was told there was only a one in 500,000 chance of contracting it, and unfortunately it had very quickly spread into by blood, into my bones and on to the ball of my hip.

“One night it just went septic, and I was raced into an operation which was the first of three surgeries to try get the infection out.

“A year on, it came back, and the ball of my hip had crumbled and died. It rebuilt soft in a non-ball shape and rubbed into the socket, which caused quite a bit of damage.

“It resulted in me having a total of eight or nine surgeries. It was pretty full on.”

 

Ball spent six-month periods in wheelchairs and braces to try to let the hip heal. She said it took quite a toll on her mental and physical health.

“It was big. I spent a lot of time in hospitals. We lived in the hospital for a few years.

“It went on for about four years consistently and then the appointments and the hip crumbling got fewer and further between.

“I had a pole in between my legs to protect my hip.

“When I was learning to walk again in the brace, I pleaded with them to make me a waterproof cast so I could surf. I managed to get up to my feet on the board with a pole in between my legs.

“It just brought me so much joy to be in the water

“They ended up telling me surfing, and trying to keep active was what ended up saving my hip.”

Defying the doctors’ prediction of needing a hip replacement by the age of 19, Ball said she hasn’t had surgery since she was 15.

Her love for the ocean and dedication to her health eventually entrenched her in the competitive surfing scene.

“The hip got pretty good, and I just naturally got competing with the Torquay Boardriders Club and then into the state, national and international pathway,” Ball said.

“I won an Australian title with Sage Goldsbury from Phillip Island in 2019, which was a big highlight.

“Competition has allowed me to meet some of my best friends. It’s more about the experiences for me and hanging out with a bunch of people who have the same interests.

“Winning feels good but losing sucks. It can still be pretty heart-wrenching at times.”

 

To offset the toughness of the competitive surfing scene, Ball said one of her outlets had become paddling out in the biggest and rawest waves possible.

These include inaugural Bells Beach 50 Year Storm surfing event in 2021, when Ball fearlessly caught one of the biggest waves of the event and landed herself on the podium alongside some of her surfing heroes.

The video of her surfing her podium-winning wave was shared far and wide all over the world on social media.

 

“It was pretty cool, that’s for sure,” Ball said.

“I was just worried about not getting a wave, and luckily I got one!

“All the people in it are just your local heroes. I’d grown up listening to them and watching them.

“To also share it with Ellie Harrison and Bella Wilson, two of my great friends, was amazing.

“Dad getting me out in the big waves at an early age definitely helped me with the fear factor.

“It’s my favourite; just rocking up at Bells by myself and being all nervous. I just love the feeling of it all.

“I just try to giggle away the fear.”

 

Presently in her third year of studying a double degree in Law and International Relations, Ball will be moving to Ireland in 2024 to complete a university exchange program.

She is hopeful of doing plenty of surfing in Ireland and potentially competing in some of the surf events.

“I’ll try to link up with a few guys who were competing in Indonesia who live in Ireland. They give the competitions a real crack, so I’ll try to give them a message so they can show me the ropes,” she said.

“I’ll be in Limerick, which has some waves not too far away and a couple of really good waves a few hours up the coast.

“It’s very exciting, and I can’t wait to experience living over there.”