14-year-old surfer from N.S. heading to national competition in B.C.

A 14-year-old surfer from the Halifax area is heading to B.C. this weekend to represent Nova Scotia at a national competition. 

Juniper Balch of Lawrencetown is no stranger to breaking down barriers in the largely white sport. She's the only Black surfer to compete in her age category in the province, her mom said. 

As a volunteer with the North Preston Surf Program, Balch also helps introduce other Black youth to the sport that she fell in love with as a seven-year-old. 

"Maybe I'll see one or two Black kids out on the water, and not just me," Balch told CBC Radio's Information Morning. 

Her mom, Lisa Scott, said her daughter is a fairly quiet kid, but you wouldn't know it when you see her out on the water.

"When she gets out there, she's got a lot of courage and she's got a lot of gusto," Scott said.  

Balch will be among about 250 competitors from across the country to take part in Surf Canada's national competition in Tofino from April 8-10. 

Balch, who won the last three contests in Nova Scotia in her age group, said she's eager to surf on the West Coast where the waves break differently than they do here. 

"I'm feeling excited, but also very nervous," Balch said.

She learned to surf with her dad, back when daughter and father shared the same board. 

"Any time he would catch a wave, I would stand up with him, and so then it went further and further and then I got on my own board," Balch said.

Scott said she's very proud of her daughter, not only for her skills on the water, but for the way she represents the Black community in the sport she loves. Balch also plays soccer and kayaks. 

"For a 14-year-old girl to get out there and be the only one is something that maybe her peers or fellow competitors don't really