TARANAKI SURF FESTIVAL
Surf's Up in Taranaki
The Women’s Surf Festival runs between 26 April and 1 May and is being held at Fitzroy Beach in Taranaki. The event involves over 70 competitors, including 24 vying for the hotly contested New Zealand Women’s Open Title. This is an important competition for local surfers, Craig Williamson, Executive Officer for Surfing Taranaki, explains why:
“The winner of the Open Title is a wildcard entry in the Subaru Pro competition, which we’re running at the same time as the festival,” says Craig. “The Pro competition is part of the 2011 ASP Women’s ‘Dream Tour’. The Dream Tour consists of six surfing competitions held all around the world– and we’re stoked to be able to host one of the competitions here in Taranaki.
“The standard of surfing on the tour is outstanding – and the New Zealand Women’s Open winner has the chance to compete against the ‘best of the best’ – those on the Dream Tour. It’s a fantastic opportunity,” he says.
“Seventeen surfers battle to win or re-gain their place on the Dream Tour each year, with the top 11 at the end of this year qualifying for the 2012 tour and the remaining six competitors coming from the international ASP World Qualifying Series.”
Craig says NZCT has helped Surfing Taranaki host this prestigious event, by funding a PA system and an event caravan.
“We usually have to hire these, but thanks to NZCT we were able to purchase them, which is a real boon for our organisation,” says Craig. “After this big competition and event, we’ll be able to loan them out to local clubs hosting local surfing contests – so they’ll be a great asset and help for many future events. We are rapt and thank NZCT for their assistance.”
