The top eight surfers have been found in the top division after some thrilling action at the national surfing championships at St Clair beach yesterday.
A 1m swell built to over 2m in the afternoon and light winds all day long provided perfect conditions for New Zealand's top surfers.
The experience of Gisborne surfer Maz Quinn shone through as he secured a quarterfinal win with an explosive performance over defending champion Billy Stairmand (Raglan), who also progressed to the semifinals in second place.
Quinn posted a 15.83-point heat total compared with Stairmand's 13.93 points, the two looking like the form surfers of the event to date.
Quinn won his first title in 1996 and a further three after that (2000, 2004, 2006), while Stairmand has also won four and is looking to go three in a row.
A win from either surfer would see them match the all-time records of Wayne Parkes and Iain Buchanan with five titles each.
Quinn spends a lot of time surfing the Otago region and was clearly in sync with the waves during his heat yesterday.
"I was lucky to get into some good waves,'' Quinn said.
At St Clair, it is a matter of being patient and "snagging them off the end''.
It is all about getting the right wave.
Quinn was also happy to get a win over Stairmand after a slight slip-up in the first round that saw him place second and lose his top seeding.
"Any time you beat Billy is good and it is a good confidence boost going into the semis later in the week.''
Dunedin surfer JC Susan kept hometown hopes alive in a close-scoring heat to finish the round.
Susan, a New Zealand representative, along with Raglan surfer Luke Hughes, edged out 2014 finalist Alex Dive, of Mount Maunganui.
Dive was left stranded with a lack of waves in the dying stages of the heat and Susan and Hughes advanced to the semifinals, where they will meet the Taranaki pairing of Daniel Farr and Keone Campbell.
At the age of 16, Farr is the youngest competitor in the semifinals.
Advancing to the semifinals has already produced a career-best result in the open division and Farr's powerful surfing will see him make a serious push towards the final.
Matt Hewitt, of Mount Maunganui, was the fourth heat winner in the round, advancing to the semifinals alongside Sean Kettle, of Taranaki.
Both surfers were semifinalists in 2014.
Hewitt is also a past champion, having won the event in 2012.
The age-group girls' divisions saw standout performances from Kea Smith, who won both of her heats in the under-18 and under-16 girls' divisions.
Smith was particularly powerful in the under-18s, posting a 15-point heat total, as were her Mount Maunganui mates Elin Tawharu and Tiana Breeze-De Mooij, who also advanced to the semifinals in both divisions.
Taranaki surfer Zhana Hutchieson was another to advance her cause in both divisions after a successful first day of the event that also saw her move into the semifinals of the open women's division.
Late in the day, the senior men's divisions got their chance to compete.
The swell built throughout the day until the event had to be called off late in the afternoon, but not before the first round of the over-35 men's and the first two heats of the over-45 men's divisions were contested.
Defending champion in the over-35s Daniel Kereopa (Raglan) got his campaign back on track after a loss in the open men's division on Monday, posting a 13.6-point heat total.
He was outscored by only Jarred Hancox, of Taranaki, who posted a round-high 14.7-point heat total.
Other division winners included Alan Te Moananui, of Kaikoura, and Dunedin surfer Lyndon Fairburn.
In the first two heats of the over-45 men's division, John Rousey and Richard Baxter, both of Christchurch, took wins before the final two heats of the day were rescheduled until today.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate on day three, with a southerly blowing through.
The swell is expected to remain in the 1.5m-2m range.
The open men's and women's divisions will not be contested until tomorrow, at the earliest.
