Ice-cool Chanel Hickman out to burn off rivals

It's looming as nine days of white-hot competition, a pressure-cooker environment and the blazing heat of Mount Maunganui summer, so it's not surprising Chanel Hickman's solution is lots of ice.
The South Brighton sprinter, who has been living in Papamoa for the past few months, is heading into the Festival of Surf Sports with firm plans on how to beat the heat and her Australian competition at the same time.
The South African-born 23-year-old is a naturalised Kiwi after nearly six years on these shores and she's quickly grasped the intricacies of transtasman rivalry.
She'll use this weekend's Northern Regional championships as a buildup to next week's three-test DHL International Surf Challenge and her first serious taste of international competition, before the festival culminates with the Lion Foundation Surf League on February 5-6.
"It's going to be really busy and the key will be the recovery and what we can do to maximise that recovery," Hickman said. "We're planning a lot of ice baths and eating the right stuff at the right time. I'm very excited - it's a great chance to put into practice everything I've been working towards for the last four years, with the last three of those pretty hard-core.
"Making the New Zealand team has been the goal but staying there is the challenge, especially with the worlds coming up next year in Australia."
Hickman has been coaching rising Bay of Plenty beach stars over summer, taking training sessions at Omanu, but will put her own work into practice against Australian sprinting star Laura Shorter next week.
"I've never really raced her and it's going to be very interesting. She's the best sprinter in the world at the moment so I'll be hunting her. I'm pretty confident in the flags and the sprint will just be about giving my best. It will all come down to mental preparation and I just hope that mine is better than hers, being on our home beach and all."
Hickman, who moved with her parents from Durban to Opunake in 2006, has been studying in Christchurch for four years. Her parents have since shifted to the Bay, though her travels aren't finished, with plans to move to the Gold Coast after the festival.
She'll link up with the Kurrawa club in Queensland - home of a clutch of Kiwis including her Mount Maunganui sprinting rival Chelsea Maples, who was unavailable for this international series.
Like the rest of the 12-strong New Zealand team preparing for the International Challenge, Hickman will have a relatively light weekend at the NRCs, competing in the flags on Saturday but sitting out Sunday's sprint as she builds up to Monday's first test.
Nearly 20 international athletes - including most of the Canadian team - have bolstered the NRCs, New Zealand's second biggest carnival after the nationals.