Chelsea started surfing at the tender age of 8 after being inspired by her older brothers and quickly fell in love with competing.  Her first international event was actually the ISA World Junior Championships in Brazil in 2006 and it was at this event, after seeing idols like Bethany Hamilton and Sally Fitzgibbons that Chelsea was inspired to become the best female surfer she could be. Fast forward to 2022 and this 26 year old now holds two ISA medals for Barbados. A copper in the ISA world junior championships in 2013 and copper again in the ISA world surfing games in 2015.  She also made history by becoming the first Caribbean surfer to ever qualify for the WSL World Championship Tour in 2015.

Chelsea started surfing at the age of 10 after finding her dad’s fluorescent pink Flying Fish surfboard in their garage. She fell in love with surfing and her 6 years of ballet were soon dropped as it cut into her surfing time. She began competing a few months after and won her first division she competed in, an under 12 Scholastic contest.  Competitions quickly became a regular occurrence and she soon took to traveling overseas to broaden her competitive experience including traveling on the Barbados ISA Team to Portugal, Ecuador, Peru and France.  At 14 years old she won her first international competition, the Rip Curl Gromsearch.  At 16 Chelsea was on the podium of every contest she surfed in, both locally and internationally, with a phenomenal record in 2010 of 27 podium finishes,19 of which were 1st place, 6 were 2nd and 2 were 3rd.  In Chelsea’s 15 years of surfing she has claimed 45 Championship titles, her most recent international win was in 2019 at the APSPR Corona Pro Surf Circuit in Puerto Rico. Chelsea is so much more than just a surfer. She has made a name for herself in many different industries and has left her mark in each - by becoming a qualified Montessori teacher, she gives back to her community through teaching and guiding the young minds of the future. Her love of design has led her to collaborate with various swimwear companies which played a part in her being invited to travel to Canada to showcase her designs. Chelsea continues to train hard as she prepares for the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador as her long standing goal is to secure a place for Barbados at the 2021 Olympics.

I always competed in ISA when I was surfing professionally as a junior. Since them I have more transitioned into coaching and teaching lessons but I still love to compete in my region events and represent Barbados at the ISA 

I have been Competing since the age of 10 in Barbados. I just turned 20 in July of this year. It's really been good to get back in the jersey, competing again since Covid. I just returned from my first trip to Indonesia and it was such an awesome experience both for the surf and the culture. 
I have competed in 2 ISA junior events in the past and I am really looking forward to representing my country in the open division this year as I will be competing against the worlds best surfers. 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ISA for all the good work it does for the sport we all love so much and look forward to competing in Huntington Beach in September. 

Follow my Instagram @joshburke__ and search me on youtube to watch me surf! Nuff respect!