Individual performances are crucial but it is the team component that will take precedence in next week's national Surf Lifesaving surf league.
The seven competing provinces named their teams yesterday for the annual carnival at Mt Maunganui's Main Beach on February 13 and 14, with the race for world championshipspots casting an intriguing shadow over proceedings.
New Zealand coach Scott Bartlett and his team of selectors are using the surf league to help narrow the search for a 12-strong squad to take to Egypt in October, and hope to improve on the second-placing two years ago.
"In a lot of ways, the surf league is an ideal format to help select a team because it has intense, short and sharp races over a series of rounds," Bartlett says. "It's the best of the best in New Zealand and we're looking for athletes to really dominate their rivals and demand to be picked in this high-end racing."
The women's line-up is shaping up as one of the most competitive yet, with Bartlett admitting up to 12 female athletes could still be in contention for the six spots on the national team, to be named in April. Gisborne have named 19-year-old Australian-based star Maddie Boon as one of their iron woman contenders, where she will go up against current national champion Rachael Clarke (Auckland) and Hawkes Bay champion Nikki Cox.
Queensland-raised New Zealander Aimee Berridge joins the Bay of Plenty team for the first time, while the Taranaki pair of Ayla Dunlop-Barrett and Jamie-Lee Reynolds should also figure.
Taranaki are the defending champions, having broken through for their first win in the interprovincial league last year. Taranaki will again feature New Zealand captain Glenn Anderson, who will also coach the side for the first time, along with sprint star Paul Cracroft-Wilson and the gun IRB crew of Jaron Mumby and Chris Scott.
