Help get para surfer Joel Taylor to World Champs

Hi, my name is Joel Taylor. In August I won the 2023 Australian Para Surfing Titles and have since been selected to represent Australia, as an Irukandji, at the ISA World Para Surfing Championships at Huntington Beach, California this November.

A surfing accident at Pipeline, Hawaii in 2001, at just 21 years of age, ended my past life as a professional bodyboarder and left me confined to a wheelchair; paralysed from the waist down with a spinal cord injury. Resigned to the fact that I would never surf again, never reach my full potential and never achieve my goal of World Champion, I didn’t so much as touch the ocean for 20 years; until I discovered and fell in love with para surfing in 2022.

Just 12 months after I started, I was crowned 2023 Australian Para Surfing Champion. I always dreamt of being an Aussie Champ but not only that, now I’m a serious World Title chance too!

Born and bred in Lennox Head, Australia, it’s still home for me, my wife and our two sons, aged four and one. I loved to travel before my accident, but I have not flown internationally since I was medevaced from Hawaii back to Australia soon after my injury. I think you’d agree that travelling to the USA, on my first trip overseas in 22 years, alone, in a wheelchair carrying my surfboards, equipment and luggage, would not only be daunting, but pretty much impossible as well.

That said, if I can raise enough funds to go to the World Champs, I’d need my family with me to help, and more importantly, for support. To compete for a World Title with them on the beach too would be another dream come true!

However, making it a reality will mean a team effort and I’d be stoked for you to be a part of it, alongside me and my family.

Para surfing is not yet included in the Paralympics so funding is very limited. As well as sending a head coach and team manager, Surfing Australia will pay event registration and provide the team uniforms, but athletes are responsible for their own travel and accomodation expenses. For our family of four, we anticipate the total cost of the trip to be around AUD$20k for the 12 days - two days travel, three days training and seven days of competition.

When I was injured, thankfully my medical expenses were covered by travel insurance, however, I received no further financial assistance whatsoever. As a matter of pride, I also refused all donations and offers of support. Up until today, I’m completely self made and wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve never asked for help before, and I most definitely wouldn’t if I didn’t need it. But I’d love more than anything to compete in the World Championships, with my family there by my side, I just can’t afford to do it alone.

To do so, I need your support. Every donation, however small or large, will go towards helping me realise a dream and reach a goal I’ve had since I was 12 years old. All funds will be used wisely and appreciated more than you’ll ever know.

Rest assured, any additional or leftover money would be held in a separate bank account to be accessed only for my travel to international para surfing competitions in 2024 and beyond. Because after two decades out of the water, I’m not even close to being done yet!

To learn more about my story, and me and my family, please visit instagram.com/joelfkntaylor.

Thank you for your time and your support, stoked to have you along for the ride!