This 7-Year-Old 'Squirrel' Is a Surfing Wunderkind

Meet Quincy 'The Flying Squirrel' Symonds
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 17, 2016 1:25 PM CDT

We've all seen squirrels water ski, but have you ever seen a squirrel surf? ABC News reports Australia's Quincy "The Flying Squirrel" Symonds is already carving waves like a pro despite being only 7 years old. "She is definitely special," the World Surf League women's commissioner says. "She has a strong connection to the ocean." And her surf coach tells Today he's never seen anyone so good so young. Quincy's parents say they couldn't get her out of the water when she was little. She started surfing at 4 years old and was already entering competitions by 5. “She just kept smiling and laughing no matter how many times she fell off," her mother Kim Symonds tells ABC.

Quincy's success is even more impressive given she was born with a genetic condition that kept her in and out of intensive care. Quincy has congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which limits her body's ability to manufacture some hormones. She requires daily doses of steroids to make up for her body's lack of cortisone. But her condition isn't slowing her down. Quincy surfs about eight hours per day and hopes to go pro. Her parents say they just want it to stay fun. "It’s not my goal for her to achieve anything in particular," her father Jake Symonds tells ABC. “I’m just excited to see what she’ll do with it." (More surfing stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X