A heavy weekend schedule holds no fears for Papamoa surf lifesaver Natalie Peat, despite the 17-year-old being elevated into a key role at the Lion Foundation NZ Surf League in Mount Maunganui.
The Te Puke schoolgirl will take the ironwoman reins for the Bay of Plenty open team after Aimee Berridge's shock call-up to the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain series in Australia.
Peat, who made her open debut last year as Bay finished third, will also feature prominently in the under-19 grade, where Bay of Plenty is hunting a third successive title.
"I was planning on doing one ironman race on the Saturday and one on the Sunday but obviously now that's going to change.
"I'll have to do both for the open team and we'll just have to look at managing my workload for the under-19s," Peat said. "That's going to be really important because I don't want to blow myself out on the first day and fade on the Sunday.
"Sunday's the big day. You've got to be able to back up."
Her Papamoa and Bay of Plenty coach Kurt Wilson had no issues with elevating Peat after Berridge's departure, and he's shown further faith in youth by promoting 16-year-old Jess Miller into the open team for the run-swim-run.
Peat has already shown she can match it with her senior rivals this season, leading the Sonic national series in the surf race and laying second in the ironwoman behind Maddie Boon.
She'll be leaning heavily on her experiences on the Main Beach during 2011's Surf League to help her through this weekend.
"The long run at the start is so different from a normal race. I thought I'd pace myself last year but you just can't afford to get behind.
"You've got to go from the start so I've been adding in a couple of run sessions lately just to prepare for Surf League because it is so important in the soft sand," Peat said.
Joining Peat and Miller in stepping up from the under-19 arena will be IRB-racing twins Kirby and Chad Wheeler, who have dominated the under-21 division in IRBs for the last two seasons.
This will be their first opportunity to race against the likes of Taranaki world champions Andy Cronin and James Moorwood, as well as Gisborne imports Jaron Mumby and Geoff Cronin.
Bay of Plenty have also picked teenage sprint star Kodi Harman, who recently won the New Zealand Schools 100m-200m athletics double, and dominated the open men's sprint at the Eastern Regional champs a fortnight ago.
Gisborne will also lean on one of their under-19 stars in the open arena, after last year's disastrous sixth-placing, with Manly-based Devon Halligan doing the double on both days.
Halligan, the daughter of former Kiwis rugby league player Daryl, raced for Gisborne last year during the Festival of Surf Sports and has also enticed another New Zealand passport-holder, sprint queen Laura Shorter, back across the ditch.
Gisborne will also unveil promising Taranaki halfback Jamison Gibson-Park, with the former Gisborne Boys High first XV star a dark horse in the beach flags.
Otago return to competition after missing last year, while Auckland board and ski specialist Kevin Morrison will line up for his 11th Surf League campaign, alongside national ironman champion Chris Moors.
New Zealand beach flags champion Chanel Hickman has also been recruited from Canterbury after joining Mairangi Bay this season.
Taranaki are seeking a fourth consecutive title, with New Zealand captain Glenn Anderson looking to continue a remarkable streak. He's been involved in teams that have won the last five Surf League titles, the last three with Taranaki, as well as 2007 with Gisborne and 2008 with Bay of Plenty.
Canterbury's key member is once again triple world beach flags champion Morgan Foster.
The 36-year-old, who has been competing at this level for the best part of two decades, showed his effervescent form by winning the flags title at the ERCs, beating long-time rival Cracroft-Wilson in the final.
Hawke's Bay were second in 2011 in a consummate team performance and boast the brilliance of ironwoman Nikki Cox and five-time New Zealand ironman champion Daniel Moodie.
Two teams from New South Wales will also compete, with an under-21 side racing in the open arena and an under-19 side taking on the New Zealand provinces in that division. Talented surf swimmer Mitchell Fagerstrom and sprinter Katie Williams, the under-19 Australian flags and sprint title holder, bolster the team.
The fast-paced weekend event will feature 17 events a day, with under-19 athletes competing on Mount Maunganui's Main Beach in the morning and senior athletes doing battle in the afternoon.
Bay of Plenty teams
Open: Arna Wright, Natalie Peat, Brooke Shergold, Jess Miller, Katrina Madill, Andrew Newton, Brad Wilson, Max Beattie, Dan Hooker, Kodi Harman, Blair Dunn, Chad Wheeler, Kirby Wheeler. Coach: Kurt Wilson. Manager: Marg Gosgriff.
Under-19: Karina Radley, Cara Ryan, Jess Miller, Natalie Peat, Jordan Hills, Danny Kayes, Kirby Wheeler, Chad Wheeler, Sam Shergold, Michael Bryant. Coach: Stephen Murray. Manager: Suzanne Daniels