Smith was one of two gold medallists for Team England at the competition alongside Charlotte Banfield in the stand 3 category, as the 10-person squad finished seventh overall in the eighth edition of the event which formed in 2016.
The team train at the Wave – an inland surfing lake near Bristol – where many staff coach the athletes on a volunteer basis.
However, with the sport missing out on a place at the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, athletes will continue to be almost entirely self-funded for the foreseeable future.
“It meant a funding stream we were hoping for was shut down,” Phil Williams, para team manager of Surfing England, said.
“All of these athletes are self-financed so it’s a real struggle.”
Para-surfing was edged out by para-climbing for a spot at the Games in four years but Williams hopes the sport will be on the programme in Brisbane, Australia in 2032.
“It was a big disappointment, the whole process took quite a long time and there were good signs it was going to happen,” Williams said.
“The real disappointment was actually [for] the athletes themselves.
“We’ve done a really good job of getting to the stage, into the last two, so surely that will be the launchpad for Australia in 2032.”
