Derek Morrison

In Bloom Festival Launches Online Surf Contest

Derek MorrisonOct 16, 2024November 26, 20240

Organisers of Tauranga’s favorite music festival, In Bloom, have announced the launch of In Bloom TV. A union of their love of music and surfing, In Bloom TV is an all-new online surfing competition. “As planning commenced for the fifth year of In Bloom the crew behind the music event...

Surfing Australia Lands $1 Million In Federal Funding To Boost Women’s Surfing

Derek MorrisonOct 3, 2024November 26, 20240

Surfing Australia has been awarded $1 million in federal funding to develop the “New Wave of Female Boardriders” project. In an announcement made this morning at the Hyundai HPC by local MP Justine Elliot, alongside key females from Australia’s surf community, the grant will be delivered over the next three...

Watch: Stormwater Deep South Strike Mission

Derek MorrisonSep 30, 2024September 30, 20240

Like all good sessions, it was a last minute decision to give chase. I didn’t even know if there would be surfers on the hunt. The chance to shoot a clean, long-period swell with perfect winds at dawn was enough to invoke that sense of hopeless FOMO – the type...

Special Report: How To Get Sponsored

Derek MorrisonSep 11, 20240

So you want to get sponsored? We ask a handful of New Zealand’s leading team managers what you need to do and the steps you should take. Firstly, sponsorship has never been in a worse state in New Zealand (you can read our story on the surf industry state of...

Special Report: Has The Surf Industry Abandoned New Zealand?

Derek MorrisonSep 11, 2024September 11, 20240

If it feels like the surf industry has abandoned New Zealand then you’re kind of right. We look into the state of play of the industry and where the rubber meets the road here In New Zealand. I first started writing and photographing surf around 1993 – guys like Munga...

Watch: Desert Dogs

Derek MorrisonAug 15, 2024August 15, 20240

Desert Dogs is a new film by George Syme and Tommy Butland. It follows their journey on a self-funded surf trip to the edge of the desert and beyond. The pairing of George and Tom in this collaborative surfer-filmmaker style is breaking new ground for New Zealand surf filmmaking. In...

Watch: Place Of Thorns

Derek MorrisonAug 1, 20240

Place of Thorns tells the story of one of the world’s most incredible waves, Puerto Escondido, from its discovery by early surfers when it was just a small coffee port in Mexico, to the bustling tourist Mecca it has become today. After five decades, Puerto continues to draw surfers from...

Paris 2024: Billy And Saffi Fire Up Their Campaigns In Tahiti

Derek MorrisonJul 28, 2024August 5, 20240

A building swell at the Paris 2024 Olympics saw Billy Stairmand and Saffi Vette progress to Round 2 in Tahiti today. Both surfers made New Zealand proud, grasping opportunities in their respective opening heats at Tahiti’s infamous Teahupo’o. Over 15,000 kilometers from the host city, Olympic Surfing debuted for Paris...

Paris Olympics 2024: Reader Poll, Who Will Win?

Derek MorrisonJul 25, 2024August 5, 20240

On the eve of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games we turn to our trusty readers to see who you believe will win the coveted Olympic Gold medal at Chopes. Take our polls right here – we have one poll for the women and one for the men. The forecast is...

Teahupo’o 2024: Your Olympic Cheat Sheet

Derek MorrisonJul 19, 2024July 19, 20240

We’re on the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympics with Billy Stairmand and Saffi Vette on their way to Tahiti’s infamous Teahupo’o – the reef break at the end of the road. They’re our Kiwi hopes in a contest that will undoubtedly grab the world’s attention. Here’s what you need...