National championships head south

HAT-TRICK CONTENDER: Defending men's open national surfing champion Billy Stairmand will head south to Dunedin in the new year to try to claim a third straight national title, something that has not been achieved since 1987. The 2016 Billabong National Surfing Championships will be held at St Clair Beach, Dunedin, From January 11 to 16. The event caters for 21 divisions across all disciplines and age groups. PhotoCPL picture.

GISBORNE-Mahia surfer Ricardo Christie can expect a call from a surfing buddy in the next week or so.

Nothing unusual in that, except that this one is likely to come from national open men’s surfing champion Billy Stairmand, inviting Christie to head south with him for the 2016 Billabong National Surfing Championships in Dunedin. Raglan surfer Stairmand will try for his third straight title, a feat not achieved since 1987, when Iain Buchanan completed a run of five successive titles.

Stairmand spent most of the year competing in the World Surf League Qualifying Series. He placed 50th to be the second-highest-placed Kiwi behind World Tour campaigner Christie, who finished 21st in the Qualifying Series and 31st in the World Tour.

“Ricardo only got back to New Zealand this week; he has been on the road all year,” Stairmand said. “I am still going to give him a call and see if he wants to come down to Dunedin with me. It will be a fun trip and I would love to go down there with him and go head to head for the title.”

Stairmand heads overseas immediately after the national championships, to Hawaii for the first event of his 2016 campaign, which starts in late January. The national championships will be a springboard for his international campaign as he sharpens his competitive skills after the festive season.

The championships will be held from January 11 to 16, primarily at St Clair Beach. It will be the first time in five years that the event has been staged in the South Island and it coincides with the 50th anniversary of host club South Coast Boardriders Association, which is based at St Clair Beach.

The Otago coastline offers plenty of opportunities for surfers to explore outside the competition schedule. They can go down the coast chasing swells pulsing out of the Roaring Forties or up the coast chasing cyclone swells from the tropics.

Auckland’s Gabriella Sansom stormed to victory in the open women’s division in January this year and will be there to defend her title.

International campaigner Ella Williams of Whangamata is another strong contender. She has a full schedule of international events as she looks to improve on her ranking of 29th in the World Qualifying Series and challenge for a top-six spot and qualification for the 2017 World Tour.

The South Island will be well represented with a large contingent of surfers from the Dunedin area, as well as surfers from Christchurch.

Dunedin’s Josh Thickpenny won the South Island circuit in 2015 and will aim to transfer that success on to the national stage. Dunedin grommets Elliot Brown and Jack McLeod will join him as title hopefuls from the host club, which has a proud history at the national event . . . its members have won 22 titles.

In its 53-year history, the national championships have grown to encompass 21 divisions spread across all disciplines and age groups.

About 200 entries are expected for the event. Additional divisions comprise age groups from under-14 through to over-60s, along with longboard, stand-up paddleboard and kneeboard disciplines.

The event acts as a selection event for the SUP surfing disciplines within the New Zealand stand-up paddle and paddleboard team. This will be the seventh time the national championships have been held in Dunedin.