Mount Maunganui on top at Surf Life Saving Championships in Gisborne yesterday

North Beach surf boat crew hitting a wave in Gisborne at the TSB New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships yesterday. Photo / Cameron Walker

Mount Maunganui increased their lead at the TSB New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships in Gisborne yesterday.

The 83-person Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service team were on 75 points at the end of the day on Saturday at Surf Life Saving New Zealand's pinnacle event of the year.

That was 16 points ahead of their nearest competitor – Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club, which was in second place.

Worsening weather conditions made racing trickier than usual.

Today is the final day of the event.

Mairangi Bay Surf Life Saving Club was in third place on 33 points yesterday.

Event manager Scott Bicknell said Saturday was "very rewarding and enjoyable".

"Today has been the complete opposite from yesterday in terms of the weather but we've had no complaints. The athletes are all enjoying the racing despite the wind, rain and big swell today so from our point of view, it has been another hugely successful day," he said.

"Tomorrow will be a big day for the athletes with a busy schedule and a lot of key final events. There are a lot of points to be won, plus tomorrow could make all the difference for a lot of clubs in terms of their overall result so it will certainly be an exciting day of racing."

Today's events were expected to start at 8am and finish about 3pm.

This story will be updated once the results are in and confirmed.

TSB New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships – Top 5 results after Day 1
1. Mount Maunganui LS - 75 points
2. Waikanae SLSC - 59 points
3. Mairangi Bay SLSC - 33 points
4. Omanu SLSC - 25 points
5. Piha SLSC - 24.5 points