World's top water athletes in NZ for title hunt

Daniel Kereopa is the only New Zealander competing for the Ultimate Waterman title. Photo / Supplied

The search for the world's ultimate water athlete begins in Auckland today in an event that is bringing some of the biggest names in open-water sports to our shores.

The Ultimate Waterman is the brainchild of Surfing New Zealand chief executive Greg Townsend. The concept is simple: Gather together eight of the best water athletes and have them compete in six disciplines over eight days.

The disciplines range from short-and long-board surfing to stand-up paddle boarding and waka ama.

Hawaii's Kai Lenny, the stand-up paddle-surfing world champion, will take part, along with a host of other top international talent.

The sole Kiwi in the field is Daniel Kereopa, who has won multiple national surfing titles over his long career.

The events will take place around Auckland's east and west-coast beaches, as well as other parts of the country depending on surf conditions.

Townsend says the event will expose New Zealand to a huge audience of surf enthusiasts around the world.

"It's never been done before. It's an event for New Zealand - we own and control [it], and nobody is telling us what to do."

Red Bull TV has come on board as the production arm, and will produce an hour-long television show on the event that will be broadcast internationally.

The concept has attracted support from some heavy hitters around the surfing world, including American big-wave legend Laird Hamilton who will act as an official ambassador.

If all goes well, Townsend has big plans to expand the event in the future, including hosting qualifying series overseas and increasing the international television coverage.

The contestants were hand-picked by the organisers as athletes skilled enough to be competitive across all the disciplines.

For Kereopa, his inclusion meant having to quickly get back into competition mode.

"I've got 25 years of surfing behind me," he says. "I've had a break for a few years. When I got the call from Surfing New Zealand, I trained a lot over the summer to ready for it. I threw myself back into the competitive scene in New Zealand and did really well."

Kereopa is based in Raglan but also runs a surfing school in Auckland's Orewa beach. He's confident he has what it takes to do well in the event, but knows he's got some stiff competition.

"There are world champions in the disciplines, so the task ahead of me is pretty big. But the Ultimate Waterman is a competition that will see who has a grasp on all the different disciplines and tools we use in the ocean."

"It's really interesting stuff. It's pretty exciting for our country to have athletes of this calibre all being here."

The Ultimate Waterman
When: March 14-21
Concept: Eight athletes competing over eight days in six surfing disciplines.