St Clair Beach’s waves will be getting quite the workout over the next week when surfers from across the country descend on Dunedin for the national surfing championships.
The championships, last held in Dunedin in 2020, have attracted nearly 350 competitors in 27 divisions and involve surfing, kneeboarding, bodyboarding and stand-up paddleboarding.
Among the big names are eight-time national champion Billy Stairmand and Saffi Vette — both of them have qualified for the Paris Olympics later this year.
Defending champions Dune Kennings, of Piha, and Pia Rogers, of Whangamata, will be looking to retain their titles. Caleb Cutmore, of Raglan, is also a top seed.
Dunedin also has a large contingent of surfers from host club South Coast Boardriders competing, led by national junior representative Alexis Owen.
Event director Ben Kennings tipped some of Dunedin’s riders, including Luke Murphy, Lyndon Fairbairn, Jeff Patton, Justin Summerton and Simon Sigley, to do well in the senior divisions.
Dunedin surfers were spread across the event, from under-14s to the over-70s division, and having a wide base of youth and experience added to the championships, he said.
"I think that’s kind of the uniqueness of the events anyway.
"It’s the one time that all the surfers get together.
"It’s just part of the surfing community. You get to see some of the older legends that have won multiple, multiple titles and they also get to see some of the newcomers coming through."
Kennings, who is also the chief executive of Surfing New Zealand, is in for a busy week and is excited to bring the event back to Dunedin.
"Dunedin’s an awesome place.
"St Clair Beach is a great venue ... and usually there’s a lot of surf around the Dunedin coastline, which makes it good for everyone."
After competing, Kennings said visiting surfers then "get to go and explore around Otago, so that’s really cool".
The championships start on Sunday with the senior men and women’s kneeboarding and finish next Sunday with the open men’s and women’s surfing titles.
