The duo will become the first inflatable rescue boat crew from the Warrington club to compete at any level when they hit the water in the national surf life-saving championships starting today at Warrington Beach.
The 16-year-old Otago Girls' High School pupils will compete in the single, mass and tube rescue against teams from across the country over the next three days.
McNaughton and Becconsall-Ryan have only been competing together for two months, but won a bronze medal in the single rescue at the South Island championships earlier in the month.
The pair, who have been involved in surf life-saving for six years, do not have high expectations for the weekend.
''We're newbies. We just want to get a feel for nationals before next year when it's up north,'' McNaughton, who spent her first three years competing with the St Kilda club, said.
''There's a lot of excitement because it's a really big event. But at the same time, it's a really big event, so it's terrifying.''
Considering the pair have only been working together for two months, Becconsall-Ryan said they would be ''really excited'' to get through a heat.
''Even if we don't make it through and we still race well and don't make too many mistakes, we will still be happy with how we have done over the season,'' she said.
The duo cut short a school camp in Fiordland to return home on Wednesday night to prepare for the championships.
They spent yesterday checking and cleaning their gear, before it was inspected by officials.
Despite having ''home beach advantage'', Becconsall-Ryan doubted it would give them much of a benefit.
''It's hard to say,'' she said.
''We know how shallow the drop-off is and sometimes that can trip people up because they start the motors too early.''
The club has had no IRB crews in the past and the pair have been ''coaching ourselves'', while taking some tips from St Clair and Sumner crews.
A group of other Otago teams will also be competing at the championships, which is expected to attract up to 100 crews.
Following the retirement of former world champions Steph and Carla Laughton, St Clair has unearthed another star female duo in Briar Taylor and Maysha Aherns, who dominated the South Island championships to help their club claim overall honours.
Another St Clair crew, Arthur Ibbotson and Angus MacKenzie, will be strong contenders in the men's under-21 division.
NZ IRB championships
Warrington Beach
Today (1.30pm start): Tube rescue heats and finals.
Tomorrow (9.30am start): Assembly rescue heats and finals, mass rescue heats.
Sunday (9.30am start): Mass rescue finals, single rescue heats and finals, teams race heats and final.
