Gisborne's Maz Quinn will be among those vying for a wildcard entry into the WSL New Zealand Pro when he competes at the King and Queen of the Point competition in Raglan this week. Photo / PhotoCPL
Gisborne's Maz Quinn will be among those vying for a wildcard entry into the WSL New Zealand Pro when he competes at the King and Queen of the Point competition in Raglan this week. Photo / PhotoCPL
Olympian Saffi Vette and history-making Maz Quinn are among the Gisborne surfers competing in the King and Queen of the Point competition at Manu Bay, Raglan, this week.
Former Gisborne surfer Korbin Hutchings is part of a young Kiwi brigade returning from Australia for the event.
The openmen’s and open women’s winners will receive wildcard entries to the World Surf League (WSL) New Zealand Pro in May.
Competition in the King and Queen of the Point starts on Wednesday.
Nine-time national surfing champion Billy Stairmand is not among the competitors, but has a wildcard entry to the NZ Pro.
The King and Queen of the Point wildcard opportunity has drawn a field of 112 surfers for the open men’s division.
Contenders include Mt Maunganui surfer Kehu Butler, returning from Hawaii, and Elliot Paerata-Reid (Piha), the top New Zealand surfer in the World Qualifying Series.
But the likes of Caleb Cutmore (Raglan) and former World Championship Tour (WCT) surfer Quinn – who turns 50 in August – could blow the field wide open.
Quinn, the first New Zealand surfer to qualify for the elite WCT (2001), is still a class act. He will be joined at the event by fellow Gisborne surfers such as Finn Vette, Nick White, teenager Jaxon Pardoe (also competing in the Under-20 division), Bobby Hansen and Johnny Hicks.
Quinn, Hansen and Hicks have been seeded through to round 3, with Hicks and Hansen in the same heat.
Juniors to watch include 2025 national champion Alexis Owen and Aussie-based surfers Hutchings, Tane Bowden, Luke Griffin and Coby Perkovich.
In the seven-year history of the event, Stairmand has won it three times, Luke Cederman (Raglan) twice and Daniel Farr (Taranaki) and Jay Piper-Healion (Whitianga) once.
Saffi Vette in action at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games – with the surfing held at Teahupo'o in Tahiti. Vette and brother Finn are competing in the King and Queen of the Point in Raglan. Photo / Pablo Jimenez, ISA
Gisborne’s 2024 Paris Olympian surfer, Saffi Vette, is in the 31-strong field for the women’s open and keen to get back to her best despite a recent collision in the surf. A win for her would result in her first appearance at the World Tour level.
Taranaki surfer Paige Hareb has returned from her base in Australia looking to find the form that had her competing against the world’s best for eight years until 2019.
Since then, Hareb, 35, has competed on the second-tier Challenger Series and Australia/Oceania World Qualifying Series.
The event includes male and female Under-20 divisions, giving young surfers the chance to compete at Raglan.
Solid surf conditions are expected for the duration of the event.
