Paige Hareb is in her first year on the ASP World Championship tour. The young Kiwi is bottled up with raw talent. Her get-me-out-there-I'm-ready attitude that she brings to competition separates her from rookie surfers we've seen in previous years.

"My backhand attack would be my biggest strength," says Paige Hareb. "That and my positive mindset, being one of the only goofy footers on the tour, I think gives me an advantage."

The opening event of year just finished where Hareb formably took on Australia’s Amee Donohoe in Round 3 with an 8.0 scoring wave and a 7.17. Paige, in her first event officially on tour advances on through the quarterfinals only to meet World Champion Stephanie Gilmore in the semifinals. It's a finish that put the young rookie on everyone's radar, and she’s excited as ever.

"My goal was to make the quarterfinals but overall it was to just get out there, have fun, and take it all in. To get to the semi's was a complete bonus for me" she says.

A killer result and chance to surf against the women's champ and Paige is off on a better than good start to the season. "Surfing against her (Stephanie Gilmore) at her home break and nearly beating her has given me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year." – Paige Hareb

Be sure to watch Paige this year, her rookie year on the WCT.