Surf Lifesaving: Threat of Cyclone Atu looms

Unfinished business will be on the minds of competitors at this week's Oceans 11 surf lifesaving championships in Mount Maunganui - but first they've got to get another natural event out of the way.
Last year's 10th anniversary of the under-14 national titles was wrecked by a tsunami warning on the last of the scheduled four days. An earthquake in Chile meant beaches all over New Zealand were evacuated.
This time, it's the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Atu causing headaches for organisers. The Category 4 storm is currently heading towards New Zealand waters and, although it's expected to pass to the east of the country, big surf could hit Mount's Main Beach.
"We're keeping a close watch on conditions and the forecast and the indications we've got at the moment are that the swell will peak sometime on Thursday and drop quickly away after that," Surf Life Saving New Zealand sport general manager Nathan Hight said.
"The safety of our members and athletes is absolutely paramount and we won't be taking any chances but we're confident we'll be able to complete the programme without too many stresses."
The programme will start tomorrow afternoon with heats and semifinals for beach flags, board races and run-swim-run events, although Hight said the water events may be shifted either to Shark Alley or Pilot Bay if conditions are too dangerous.
The other option would be to juggle the schedule and leave the water-based events until later on Friday.
Cyclone Atu is looming bigger than Cyclone Wilma, which hit northern New Zealand on Auckland Anniversary weekend, but a high over the North Island should keep it from reaching landfall.
It keeps an intriguing meteorological history going for the annual carnival, which has previously been disrupted by a water spout, a weather bomb and a cyclone.
Wellington's Lyall Bay won the overall club championship last year, breaking a long dominance by Papamoa, but both Papamoa and Omanu will have strong representation this year.
Overall athlete numbers are up this year too, with 750 athletes registering for the event.
Meanwhile, Hight said Surf Life Saving New Zealand was also monitoring the situation in Christchurch after yesterday's big earthquake.
More than a thousand surf athletes are due to descend on New Brighton Beach in a fortnight for the State-sponsored national championships but the sea-side suburb and neighbouring Sumner have been hit particularly hard.
Hight and his team have already started looking at contingency plans and beaches with recent nationals experience - the likes of Ohope, Gisborne's Midway, Taranaki's Oakura and Mount Maunganui's Main Beach - would all be logical choices.
Mount Maunganui has just hosted the 10-day Festival of Surf Sports earlier this month, featuring a three-test international series involving New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and Japan.