Regional teams to battle it out for championship honours

Surf sport athletes from eight different regions around the country are set to battle it out for championship honours at Monday's inaugural Representative Challenge events in Mount Maunganui. 

The pinnacle event for Surf Life Saving New Zealand is the bi-annual World Lifesaving Championships and the representative event format has been developed to create a step in the pathway towards achieving national representative honours.

The 2016 events are the Representative Challenge and the Surf Boat Challenge.

Both events are based around a comprehensive competition programme conducted over one day of high level racing at Mount Maunganui from 9am on Monday February 1.

For the Representative Challenge, athletes are representing Otago, Canterbury, Wellington, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Bay of Plenty and the Northern Region. An Open and Youth team has been selected for each region, consisting of six males and six females.

Events include surf race, ski relay, beach flags, board race, tube rescue, beach relay and beach sprints.

For the Surf Boat Challenge, the crews will represent the Northern Region, Eastern Region and Central Region. Each region is made up of one crew from each national age division including open men and women, under 23 men and women and under 19 men and women.

Event Manager Prue Younger says the representative challenges are all about reinstating a high performance event for Surf Life Saving. It offers provinces the chance to compete with the best of the best and is a key stepping stone for athletes to achieve national representation in their surf lifesaving career," she says.

The Representative Challenges will wrap up a three day programme of racing at the annual Eastern Region Championships, which is arguably the second biggest Surf Sports event on the surf lifesaving calendar.

An overall point score will be maintained for both the Representative Challenge and Surf Boat Challenge with overall winners being declared champions.

For a full list of regional teams, please click here.

Follow us on social media:

Keep an eye out on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for photos and updates.

Also, you can help us share some great moments from the event at Mt Maunganui! Register at community.surflifesaving.org.nz and upload your photos directly or post them to Twitter and Instagram with #nzrepevents to see them appear on our story board.

We'll choose one photo at the end that we think best captures the competition and the winner will receive a Surf Life Saving backpack full of goodies including a BP Gift Card, Surf Life Saving sunscreen and beach towel.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa Smith, Media & Communications Specialist, SLSNZ
Phone 09 303 9335 or 0276 488 823
Email lisa.smith@surflifesaving.org.nz