surf champs Archives - New Zealand Surf Journal

Maya & Billy Win 2026 Nats

Derek MorrisonJan 18, 20260

Raglan surfers Billy Stairmand and Maya Mateja have claimed the premier divisions of the 2026 New Zealand Surfing Championships with Billy taking an unprecedented ninth title while Maya chalks up her second. Billy’s run at the nationals have been puzzling and controversial over the past four years – he last...

Standouts: Reuben Morrison From Across The Ditch

Derek MorrisonApr 9, 20250

Ever wonder how you’d be at surfing if you’d grown up in the surfing hotbed of North Narrabeen on Sydney’s Northern Beaches? If 17-year-old Reuben Morrison is anything to go by then you’d certainly have an air game. We sat down with Reuben after his first ever New Zealand Surfing...

Standouts: Alani Morse Is On A Mission

Derek MorrisonMar 12, 2025March 12, 20250

She is one of the fiercest competitors to emerge through the grom ranks, but what makes 14-year-old Alani Morse such a force to be reckoned with? We sat down with Alani on the heels of her 2025 New Zealand Surfing Championship campaign. In Taranaki for the 2025 Nationals Alani Morse...

Nats 2025: The Free Surf Sessions

Derek MorrisonFeb 14, 20250

If contests are the buttoned down sports version of surfing then the free surf sessions that take place around the heats are the creative opposite. There is no pressure, no judges, no decisions, just free-flowing moments when the tide hits the banks just right. Even with a below-par swell running...

Alexis Owen Takes Down Billy, Wins National Title

Derek MorrisonFeb 6, 2025February 6, 20250

One of the most promising rising stars in New Zealand, 16-year-old Alexis Owen, peaks in the 2025 New Zealand Surfing Championship Open Men’s final to pull the rug out from eight-time national champion Billy Stairmand and two-time national and defending champion Daniel Farr. Billy Stairmand knows what it takes to...

Ava Henderson Wins Second National Title

Derek MorrisonJan 31, 2025February 6, 20250

Ava’s road to her second national title was a convoluted one … she nearly didn’t get there … but the likeable, laidback surfer from Christchurch soon found her feet in Stent Road’s lefts and rights to take the top gong. In 2020 Ava Henderson won her first Open Women’s title...

40 Frames: Westport Nats Day 3

Derek MorrisonJan 13, 2022December 5, 20220

Westport delivers yet another day of sunshine and waves in the 2-3 foot range for Day 3 of the 2022 New Zealand Surfing Championships. With temperatures soaring and favourable wave conditions most of the day the event extended into the early evening to get through the required heats. Standouts include...

Westport To Host Nationals 2022

Derek MorrisonAug 26, 2021July 25, 20240

The 59th edition of the New Zealand National Surfing Championships will be staged in Westport in early 2022, the second time the event has been held on the West Coast of the South Island. The National Championships brings together the best surfers in New Zealand and with the World Surf...

10 Best Moments From The 2020 Nationals

Derek MorrisonJan 13, 2020July 2, 20201

With a forecast about as diabolical as you can get for a Dunedin summer the Health 2000 2020 Nationals had it all: early exits, upsets, elation and the emergence of two new champions. Here are our 10 best moments from it all. The Gathering of the Tribe There are few...

Maz Quinn Wins Exit Surf Canterbury Championships, Closes In On NZ Surf Series Title

Derek MorrisonApr 28, 2019July 30, 20190

Maz Quinn claims his second win of the 2019 New Zealand Surf Series by taking out the Exit Surf Men’s Canterbury Surfing Championships held at Taylor’s Mistake at the weekend. The win elevates Quinn to second overall on the national rankings at a time when the 42-year-old has semi-stood back...