A homeschooled young woman and kite-surfing champion has experienced success that is taking her places!
Lyde Heckroodt, now age 20 (in 2015) started homeschooling at the age of 8. When she was 9, her dad started teaching her to surf and three years later, at the age of 11, he shared his new found hobby of kitesurfing with her and her brother. It instantly developed into a passion!
She proved to be a real natural, and it didn’t take long for Lyde’ to ride comfortably up and down the beach at Strand. Not long after this, she entered her first competition, the grueling Langebaan Downwind dash from Langebaan to Saldanha – with 350 plus contestants from all over the world. Despite her mother’s apprehension that her ‘little girl’ is way too young and inexperienced, she did excellently, and won her first kite-surfing prize, when bravely finishing as first girl in the junior section.
Even though Lyde enjoyed the kiting, her greater passion as a young girl, was horse-riding, which she could freely enjoy on the beautiful mountainous and scenic Lourensford Estate in Somerset West, where her family lived for most of their homeschooling years. Sadly, the horse she used to ride (which was quite old) died, and she never quite found a suitable replacement.
About 4 years ago, her family moved to Blouberg, and soon the kiting flame was rekindled. Lyde picked up from where she left, and having surfed with her dad and brother during her younger years, proved to be a naturally strong and graceful kite-surfing wave-rider. Lyde also won the 2014 Langebaan Downwind dash Women’s division (beating the 2011 female speed world champion), which was no small feat.
For the first time at age 18, Lyde entered the South African Kitesurfing Championships, and walked away with first prize in the wave-riding discipline and second place for overall disciplines. Soon she had various sponsors knocking at her door, and is now (together with her brother) internationally sponsored by a well-known Italian company RRD (Roberto Ricci Designs).
In 2014 Lyde’s dad decided to send her to Mauritius for 2 months training during the SA winter (off) season, where she had an unforgettable time of intense training with some of the best riders in the world, and doing 2 weeks of spectacular filming with her sponsors and co- team riders from across the world.
Returning to SA, Lyde kited with even more passion, and she is currently competing in the 2015 South African Kitesurfing Championships, having completed three out of the four stops. She has thus far earned two second places as well as a first place in the recently held, penultimate competition.
Lyde has proven to be a natural racer as well, and during Dec, came 2nd in the ladies and 8th overall (out of 70 contestants), in a very demanding race from Kitebeach to Robben Island, twice repeated, and eventually finishing off at Big Bay, Blouberg.
Lyde is currently training full-time and has to be available for her sponsors for shoots and marketing. She has also occasionally accepted a modelling job- offer (although it’s not her interest) , and has mostly been doing au-pairing and tutoring for 2 years, which she considers the best training for raising her own children one day.
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