Surfing: Bay pair to battle it out with elite

BAY HOPE: Ben Hazelwood shows his prowess at the Backdoor BayBash last year. PHOTO/FILE

Hawke's Bay surfers Ben Hazelwood and Jeremy Evans will be on revenge missions targeting each other during this weekend's two-day Backdoor BayBash.

Hazelwood, 33, is eager to beat Evans in the open men's division of the Waimarama-hosted event which doubles as the final national series comp of the year.

"Jeremy smashed me in the Hawke's Bay champs back in June. Hopefully we get a few waves so I can get him back. Seriously though when you look at the competition we're up against any heat we make it through will be good.

"I've just come back from a training stint out at Waimarama and some of the young guys from out of town are sharp. Any heat I get through will be a win as far as I'm concerned," Hazelwood said last night.

Like Evans, Hazelwood, hasn't competed in any of the previous national series events this year.

"I'm busy building my own house. But I still try and get out for a surf once or twice a week ... I have to get my fix," he added.

Evans, 35, wants to get revenge against Hazelwood who beat him into second place behind four-time national champion Maz Quinn of Gisborne at last year's BayBash. Quinn won't be competing this weekend.

"Hopefully I can close the door on Ben like I did back in June," Evans said.

Evans hasn't chased other events on the national series this year because he has been busy with his surf school and developing the Bay's young talent. He is confident his local knowledge will help compensate for his lack of competitive surfing.

Havelock North premier rugby player Bronson Primmer and Tyler Lawson will be the Bay's other hopes in the open men's division.

The event will feature some of the country's top surfers across divisions ranging from the premier open men's and women's divisions through to the under-14 boys division with a big increase in entries across the board.

Many teammates from the just-returned New Zealand Junior Surfing team will be heading to the Bay to finish the competitive season. The team competed at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship at Oceanside Beach, California, US during the middle of the month.

However, the young New Zealand representatives will have some major competition in the open men's division which will be spearheaded by Mount Maunganui's New Zealand rep Matt Hewitt, the favourite for the $1000 first prize.

Current No2 in the open men's division rankings is Piha's Tane Wallis who will compete at the event with older brother Zen. Wallis is unable to catch leader Quinn despite Quinn's absence this weekend.