KUAM Gamechangers: Irie Fitzgerald

You can catch Irie Fitzgerald catching the waves.

The 14-year-old surfer recently competed at the Vissla International Surf Association World Junior Surfing Championship in Miyazaki, Japan. After she suffered a severe sting from a Man O War jellyfish a half hour before her heat, Irie toughed it up and hit the waves – being the only competitor representing Guam she knew quitting wasn’t an option.

She advanced into the later rounds in her division and finished 3^rd in the 2^nd round before being eliminated – but in the process she gained valuable International Olympic Committee ISA points to go towards her seeding in future comps.

Irie works very hard training to surf – even when there isn’t any surf.

“When there’s no surf, I either swim or do underwater training,” Irie said. “Holding a giant rock underwater and walking or I dive or I sometimes skate – it depends if it’s raining or not.”

Irie has taken first in the women’s’ division at the Monster Energy Surf The Basin, 4th in the women’s’ bracket at Japan’s Billabong comp, she also won the Iron Woman award at the Katagai Cup in Chiba, Japan. She routinely competes in the HASA series circuit in Hawaii – even making the semifinals. Irie has also competed in the prestigious Rip Curl Grommet comp and the Local Motion Surf into Summer contests. She leaves next week to compete at the North Shore.

Irie says without her parents, sponsors like Fokai, Lotus Surf Shop and Chixreef and coach Fred Mendiola – she doesn’t know what she would do.

“Without them, I couldn’t be here, they really helped me at my last competition,” Irie said. “My coach came out to support me and help me boost my confidence.”

While surfing is now the love of her life, it was volleyball that first kept her busy.

“When I started surfing off island for competitions, I started missing a lot of practices. I started noticing I couldn’t make it to every practice and every game,” Irie said. “So I felt like I should just move into surfing more because that’s what I love more.”

Irie attends Guam High school part time and she also takes online college prep courses. She says while surfing is one of her big priorities, her studies come first.

“Definitely school is more important, because if I graduate high school and college I still can get a job,” Irie said. “I always use surfing as a break from my studying, so after I study a lot – I’ll go out surf and have a fun sesh. After I get refreshed I go back to my studying.”

Well that approach is paying off as Irie has a great GPA in her AP classes and headed into freshman year as a member of the National Junior Honor Society. Her advice to fellow scholar athletes – the sky is the limit – all you have to do is keep it up.

“I know it’s hard, but just push your limits – and once you push your limits, you’ll notice that you can do it,” Irie said.

She knows this because pushing her limits is what could put her in the mix to represent Guam in surfing at the 2020 Olympics. She’s making waves – even when the surf is flat and she’ll chase her dreams even if they take her around the world – and that’s what makes Irie Fitzgerald a Gamechanger.