He will barely have finished unwrapping his presents and enjoying a festive feast with his family before he races up the road to Queenstown and hops on a plane to China.
The Alexandra paddler has been selected for the Nu Jiang Wildwater Canoeing International Open, in Bao Shan.
Collier, 20, who was invited after winning silver in the kayak-cross at the world under-23 championships in August, said the invitation was a "crazy surprise", but he was ecstatic about competing in Asia for the first time.
"It’s an amazing opportunity, really," Collier said.
"I’m incredibly excited to see the culture and their kayaking scene — I just don’t know what that’s like at all."
He will be joined by Kiwis Dayla Ward, who has recently been living in Wanaka, River Mutton and Millie Chamberlain for the event, involving three days of training to get a grasp on the river, followed by three days of competition beginning on December 30.
Collier will compete in the K1 short and long distance, kayak-cross and K1 challenge, a surprise event.
Kayak-cross will be his biggest race, but he admitted it was "hard to gauge" where he would finish, after still being relatively new to the international scene and fresh off his first international season in Europe.
"For me, it’s another opportunity to gain experience and build on my skills . . . and compete against some really top-level athletes," Collier said.
Racing in China will be good preparation for when he returns to New Zealand on January 3, ahead of the New Zealand senior kayak-cross team selection camps and races.
He will head straight to Tekapo from January 4 to 7 for a training camp, then to Palmerston North for the first national section races on January 13-14.
If he makes the senior team, Collier will have the chance to compete at a qualifying event in Prague next year for the Paris Olympics.
His long-term goal remains the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, but he is focused on his upcoming season.
He was pre-selected this week for the New Zealand under-23 kayak cross world championship team next year.
Collier has just finished his second year studying economics and strategic management at the University of Waikato.
He spends five months of the year based in Cambridge and splits the rest of the year between competing overseas and home in Alexandra.
