It’s not common to find young athletes who have not only competed in the most renowned competitions in the world, but also qualified for the Olympics at the age of 18. Caitlin Simmers did both. Read more about the young surfing prodigy in this LILA Gazette article. 

By Camille Cheung – 10th grade.

When thinking of professional sports, one usually pictures an adult with decades of experience and a goal since young to be the best at their game. For Caitlin Simmers, though, this was not the case. As a little girl, the 19 year old was only looking to ride the most waves and have the most fun, but, once people started realizing the natural talent she had, it was only a matter of time before the professional surfing world invited her in. Now, she holds the title of youngest female surfer in the Championship Tour of Surfing and is part of the top 5 female surfers in the world. Simmers’ rise to fame at such a young age is truly incredible and it all starts in Southern California’s sunny Oceanside, San Diego. 

Caitlin “Caity” Simmers was born October 26, 2005 in Oceanside, San Diego, a coastal city known for its surf culture, beautiful beaches, and historic landmarks. Her parents, Jesse and Ali Simmers, were both surfers as well, which encouraged Caity to start playing with the ocean at a young age. Her brother Timothy “Timo” Simmers, born two years later, followed in her footsteps and also grew to become a talented surfer. As a kid, she never liked wearing dresses or doing activities considered “girly-girl.” In an interview with RedBull, she says that she “was really into just catching lizards and catching snails … [she] just loved to do sports.” She shares that her dad was an electrician and her mom was a hospice nurse which left her and her brother “kind of on their own.” The siblings grew up doing a lot together, so, she quotes: “We always wanted to be better than each other.” This competition fed into her competitive spirit, which later would be advantageous for winning surf tournaments. 

The origins of her love for surfing are rooted in Oceanside. She states that she loves her city and she’s really happy with where she grew up. Her passion for the sport started with the surf break of Oceanside Harbor, where she was able to practice the sport with her father, who would push her into waves. John Daniels, her childhood surf coach, realized Caity’s special gift for surfing when she was around the age of 12. Although this is when people started seeing her talent, she explains that she did not start surfing to become a pro surfer. She was really only doing it for fun and to be with friends. Her skills allowed her to start doing Pro Junior events to combine her love for surfing and her fiery competitiveness. Even though her goal was never to become a professional athlete, her talent landed her in the World Surf League Challenger Series and, later, qualified her for the Championship Tour, which is the highest level of professional surfing. 

At this point, Caity had the option to travel the world with the most elite surfers at the age of 15, which would make her the youngest female surfer to qualify. One would think that anyone would take that opportunity in a heartbeat, but Simmers wasn’t ready to give up her laid-back life of free surfing in her hometown with friends and family around. In the interview, she shares that “when [she] was watching the comps, [she] felt no regret because [she] would be at home hanging out with friends or [she] would be on a trip filming for something that [she] really wanted to do.” This decision freed up time for her to make her own surf edits and share her creativity with the Internet, which is exactly what she did with the creation of Toasted Media. “Toasted Media is a thing that I created, just stuff that I really like to make and want to make but have an outlet to put it on, so that was what that came out of.” This collection of videos and edits was put out on YouTube by Caity to showcase her version of the extreme sports edits she had always grown up watching. She says she felt no regret for rejecting the invitation to the Championship Tour because it allowed her to do what she wanted to do and make an impact on the surfing world her way, before doing it professionally. A year later, she got re-invited by WSL to join the Tour and she accepted it, marking the start of her professional surfing career. 

Caitlin Simmers is now ranked first female surfer in the World Surf League rankings and, in addition to competing in the 2025 Championship Tour, she will be automatically qualified for the 2026 competition. She also participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which was held in Tahiti, more specifically the surf break of Teahupo’o, where she placed 9th. Her surfing style is unique in the way that it combines powerful competition surfing with a more relaxed free surfing approach. The young 19 year old surfing phenomenon rose her way to the top with her seemingly effortless way of riding the waves and plans to continue to make a huge impact on the world of surfing.