Olympic incentive

CHRISTIE ON THE CARVE: Gisborne-Mahia man Ricardo Christie in action at the New Zealand championships at Midway Beach. Christie has made the New Zealand team for the World Surfing Games in Japan. Picture by Cory Scott

The 2020 Olympics are very much in the minds of the strongest New Zealand team in over a decade named for the World Surfing Games in Japan.

Gisborne-Mahia’s Ricardo Christie and World Championship Tour surfer Paige Hareb are among the six-strong Kiwi contingent to contest the WSG at Tahara Beach from September 15 to 22.

They will be joined by Billy Stairmand (Raglan), Kehu Butler (Mt Maunganui), Ella Williams (Whangamata) and Raiha Ensor (Mt Maunganui). Elliot Paerata-Reid (Piha) and Elin Tawharu (Mt Maunganui) are reserves.

The Games will feature 250 athletes from 50 countries and for the first time there will be an even split of males and females — underlining the progress of women’s surfing up to the highest level.

It will be the first taste of the WSG for 29-year-old Christie and 18-year-old Butler. Both have contested the world junior champs.

Christie is competing on the World Surfing League’s Qualifying Series tour in a bid to return to the World Championship Tour he made in 2015. He is sitting 67th on the QS rankings, while fellow QS competitor Stairmand is 367th.

With Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympics at which surfing will make its Olympic debut, the WSG will be a vital qualification pathway from 2019.

It will be a compulsory event for aspiring Olympians, which will guarantee high-quality teams from all the surfing powerhouse nations.

The 2018 edition will also be important, as it gives countries the chance to earn a good seeding for qualification at the 2019 event.

The top-ranked male and female from Oceania region at the 2019 WSG will qualify for the Olympics.

There will be another chance to make it at the 2020 WSG, at which 10 Olympic spots will be up for grabs.

The Olympic qualification process starts at the highest level — the World Championship Tour.

Ten males and eight females from the 2019 WCT will automatically qualify.

Meanwhile, the Kiwi team for the 2018 WSG will compete in several international events between now and September.

They will also use the recently established Mt Maunganui-based high-performance camps in preparation for the WSG.