Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

No concerts but plenty of racing for the first Waterbourne Beach Festival

Laura Smith
By Laura Smith
Local Democracy Reporter·Bay of Plenty Times·
7 Mar, 2022 07:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Olympic sailing medalist Jo Aleh was the women's champion at the stand-up paddleboard nationals last weekend. Photo / Supplied

Olympic sailing medalist Jo Aleh was the women's champion at the stand-up paddleboard nationals last weekend. Photo / Supplied

The organisers behind last weekend's inaugural Mount Maunganui-based Waterbourne Beach Festival are already prepping for next year's event.

Event director Laurence Carey said the three-day multisport event went well.

"We got all the different sports done which was amazing."

He said there was a good mix of conditions across the weekend, with the swell building to two metres by Sunday's events.

The event included the stand-up paddleboard nationals, beach volleyball championships and wing-foil racing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Carey said thousands of people came down to watch the events.

While initially there were to be community beach events and two concerts, working the event under a red traffic light setting meant most community events and the concerts were not possible.

However, about 30 people were able to participate in the Tip Top Paddle Ninja Games, a paddleboarding inflatable obstacle course.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It was awesome, considering the circumstances and how Covid impacted the event."

He said he was already working to get next year's event organised, and was pleased the first event was a success.

After the national event on Sunday, women's paddleboarding national champion Jo Aleh said the day's race was pretty epic, with tough conditions.

"I had a good game plan and it worked. The game plan was to avoid the big waves, and that was a winner."

Discover more

Best stand-up paddleboarders to descend on Mount Maunganui

18 Feb 12:13 AM
New Zealand

'There is a lot of angst': First-time Mount festival adapting to red setting

29 Jan 08:00 PM

The new festival coming to Mount Maunganui in March

04 Jan 05:04 PM

GJ Gardner Beach Volleyball National Championships operations manager Trent Weebly said the weekend was a huge success given the heightened restrictions from
Covid-19.

"Beach volleyball in New Zealand is a minority sport, so showcasing the National Championships in collaboration with Waterbourne Beach Festival is a match made in heaven."

Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Oscar Nathan said it was a cracker of a weekend in the Bay, with perfect weather for both the Waterbourne Beach Festival and the start of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 on Friday.

"It's the first time Tauranga has hosted these two events and it gave residents and visitors alike something a bit different to do on their weekend – a perfect distraction from all the other worries of the world that have been going on."

The postponement or cancellation of recent and upcoming events had been having a negative flow-on effect for accommodation providers, tourism activity operators and hospitality venues, he said.

However, he said the red-light setting did not mean stopping altogether.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"To that end, it's important to continue to provide entertainment and activity options so the people who want to keep enjoying the good things in life can do so."

Its own inaugural event, the Flavours of Plenty Festival, would be held in a month's time and involved local chefs, restaurants and food producers.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20

Bay of Plenty Times

Waipuna Hospice burglary: 'Dumpster divers' raid charity's skip bins

Bay of Plenty Times

'It's on in the Tron': Robertson looking forward to final test


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20
Bay of Plenty Times

Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20

Christopher Millen went bush, stealing a rifle, tools and a sheep from a nearby house.

17 Jul 08:00 AM
Waipuna Hospice burglary: 'Dumpster divers' raid charity's skip bins
Bay of Plenty Times

Waipuna Hospice burglary: 'Dumpster divers' raid charity's skip bins

17 Jul 05:45 AM
'It's on in the Tron': Robertson looking forward to final test
Bay of Plenty Times

'It's on in the Tron': Robertson looking forward to final test

17 Jul 05:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP