Pauline Ado was not born into a surfing family – but she was born of the generation where anything is possible. At the tender age of eight, Pauline asked her parents for a surfboard. She loved the feeling of being in the ocean and the challenge of taking on its ever-shifting moods. Ironically she hated competition. That is, until she started winning. Pauline was 10 when she scalped her first victo...ry and it wasn’t long before sponsorship deals were flooding her mailbox and she was jetting off to exotic surf breaks to trade waves with her surfing idols. At 13, Pauline was selected to represent the French Junior Surfing Team. Two years later, she would make surfing history, winning the ISA World Games, producing the first World Title for France. A perfectionist by nature, Pauline’s meticulous preparation and precision-technique earned her an ASP World Junior Title in 2008, putting European women’s surfing firmly on the world map. Balancing a rigorous competition schedule with the increasing demands of her senior school year, Pauline opted to finish her studies via correspondence, allowing her to focus exclusively on her dream of qualifying for the Elite ASP Women’s World Title Tour. Pauline’s thirst for victory, coupled with a flair for tactical surfing, has seen her pierce the Top Ten in her rookie season. In 2011 Pauline set another benchmark by qualifying as the first ever European woman for a second year in the prestigious ASP World Tour. She says: “I try to surf with people better than me as motivation, to push me to grow. I watch some of the top girls and try to work out their strategies, what type of maneuvers score them the highest points, and then I build that into my own performances.”
