The Whangamata surfer, who is in Dunedin this week for the national championships, turned 21 yesterday.
She had a day off from competition yesterday but was still in the water at St Clair nice and early.‘‘I had a birthday surf,'' she said.
‘‘I will always remember my 21st was in Dunedin for a surfing competition. I get a real good feel off this place. I came here five years ago [for the national championships] and that was my first time here. I think I had three divisions, so I was surfing heaps and heaps. It always gets such fun waves. I love it.''
Williams, the 2013 junior world champion, made a strong start to the national championships when she won the fourth and final heat in the open women's section on Monday.
She has had the past two days off but will be back in the water when the semifinals are contested either today or tomorrow.
Defending champion Gabriella Samson, of Auckland, is expected to pose the biggest challenge for Williams, while Samson's sister, Bianca, and Taranaki's Zhana Hutchieson cannot be taken lightly.
‘‘There is great waves so everyone has got a fair opportunity and it's a fair playing field,'' Williams said.
Regardless of whether Williams goes on to win the title, she is determined to enjoy the little time she has left in New Zealand this year.
She will spend the next 10 months competing in the world qualifying series. Williams, who is ranked 29th out of 110 surfers, needs to crack the top six to make the World Tour.
‘‘That's my goal this year, just to really put my head down and qualify,'' she said.
‘‘It's a bit of a battle, but I feel like this year is going to be a great year because I have got a lot of experience under my belt. I just feel like the places we are going to I know, I've surfed there before. So I feel quite confident and excited. Bring it on, I say.''
Since winning the junior world title in 2013, Williams has been competing in the qualifying series as she works towards her ultimate goal - being crowned world champion.
It is a goal she scribbled on a poster on her wall when she was just 8 years old.‘‘At that point, I actually wanted to be, like, six things,'' Williams said.
‘‘I wanted to be a singer, a dancer, an actor, and then I was loving squash at the time, so I wanted to be a squash player. I was into so many sports and I wanted to be the best at all of them. I guess it just carried through and my surfing took the main role.
‘‘I like to dream big. I've always thought that from a young age. I really want to get another world title, obviously not just one, but a few.''
While some people expected her to reach the top soon after winning the junior world title two years ago, Williams is looking at her two years in the qualifying series as an apprenticeship.
‘‘I've got to do it over a few years. It doesn't just happen straight away. I'm kind of doing my apprenticeship and I'm ready to take it to the next level,'' she said.
Williams grew up in Hamilton and started surfing at Raglan when she was just 4. Shortly after she turned 7, her parents, Janine and Dean, brought a surf shop in Whangamata, where the family has lived since.
She and her brother Braedon (24) spent countless hours at the beach surfing and swimming after school.
Now, it is her life and even inspires other young surfers.
On Tuesday, she had a bunch of Dunedin girls approach her wanting to have their photos taken with her.
‘‘They had been running around all morning trying to find me. I was so stoked. Stuff like that gives me a high,'' she said. Williams is in the water almost every day, and said time in the water was the best form of training for aspiring surfers.
She will spend a couple of weeks at home after leaving Dunedin on Sunday, before heading to Australia for the first part of the qualifying series at the end of the month.
Poor conditions wiped out the majority of yesterday's action. The competition is set to resume at 7.30am today.
