Surf Athletes
We all like to think we are surfers who “could have” made it. These surf athletes actually are making it. From underground heroes to rising groms – this is where we lay bare the best talent in the country.
The much anticipated monster swell forecast for January 15 and 16 turned Hawaii’s North Shore into a wild playground for the brave. Once again it was Kai Lenny who led the charge at Jaws. Tucker Wooding was in the gallery on the clifftop to record Kai’s waves in what will......
Saffi Vette brings the crowd to tears with her win at the 2021 National Surfing Championships, while Billy Stairmand breaks his own record with an eighth national men’s title at Piha. Finals day at Piha for the 2021 National Surfing Championships presented by The Trusts Community Foundation included an emotional......
Eight surfers have secured the semifinalist spots in the men’s open division after an explosive quarterfinal round of action at the 2021 National Surfing Championships, which are being held at Piha this week. The exceptional results from Tuesday’s round of competition were punctuated by stellar performances from Mount Maunganui’s Kehu......
Nixon Reardon and Ava Henderson claim first blood in the opening round of the 2021 South Island Grom Series held at Dunedin’s St Clair Beach on Saturday. With an atrocious forecast that included gale winds and an open ocean 5-6m short-period swell the decision was made early to try and......
There’s a new wave of competitive surfers coming out of Taranaki and they’re taking scalps in national events. New Zealand Surf Journal caught up with the effervescent Kalani Louis after his Under 16 Final at the 2020 National Scholastics Championships held at Kaikoura. NZSJ: Hey Kalani, congrats on a great......
Billy Lee-Pope has just dropped this sweet little edit from The King and Queen of the Point contest where Billy Stairmand and Paige Hareb were crowned. The King and Queen of the Point is final national event of 2020, concluding the shortened New Zealand Surf Series for 2020. It was......
Whangamata surfer Hunter Cooney is the guy responsible for producing Flightless Obsession – that’s the Kiwi surf film that was borne out of our Covid-19 Lockdown. New Zealand Surf Journal caught up with the young creative along the iconic shoreline of Kaikoura. NZSJ: Hello, Hunter. What are you doing standing......
Local Raglan surfer Billy Stairmand was too good for his opponents this weekend being crowned King of the Point alongside New Zealand’s most successful surfer Paige Hareb, of Taranaki, who was crowned Queen of the Point in the Women’s Division. The King and Queen of the Point, which is presented......
Since Surfing New Zealand implemented priority rules into local contests the quality of heat surfing has improved. But is there a dark side to the way we’re implementing it? Any blunder in priority rulings can effectively stop even the best surfer in their tracks. And that has happened at least......
Filmmaker Billy Lee-Pope and Kehu Butler join forces to bring this epic introduction into the life of one of New Zealand’s greatest surfers, Kehu Butler. Greetings from Te Kehukehu Mokoia Ngawhika Patara Butler, or Kehu Butler, follows the 20-year-old Māori surfer and offers a glimpse into his life. You get......