Source: Radio New Zealand
Tom Butland is one of three New Zealanders that will line up in the World Surf League event in Raglan this week. PhotoCPL / Supplied / Surfing NZ
This time last year Taranaki surfer Tom Butland could not walk – now he is preparing to take on the best in the world.
Butland will line up at the New Zealand Pro in Raglan this week, in a landmark moment for New Zealand surfing as the country hosts its first World Surf League championship tour event.
The 24-year-old could find himself sharing the water the likes of Brazilian stars Gabriel Medina and Miguel and Samuel Pupo, as well as defending world champion Yago Dora.
But only a few months ago, getting back to full fitness was his biggest goal.
Butland spent most of 2025 off the water after badly injuring his knee while surfing. Then, just as he was recovering, another accident left him facing an even longer road back.
“It’s hard to even picture, this time last year I couldn’t walk, so it’s crazy to be back and in a comp as big as this,” Butland told RNZ.
He first tore the MCL in his knee while out on the water. During rehab, a mountain bike accident tore the AC joint in his shoulder, broke his elbow and both scapulars, and left him concussed.
The recovery was long and frustrating, but the prospect of New Zealand hosting a World Surf League event helped fuel his comeback.
“It certainly lit a fire under me to go hard and try and qualify for Raglan. I wasn’t really surfing at a great level until probably the middle of December when I started to get my feet back because I had to trust all the injuries and get mind over matter.”
Tom Butland competing at the national surfing championships in Dunedin in 2020. Cory Scott / PHOTOSPORT
His place in the WSL field to compete at Manu Bay was confirmed in April when he won the wildcard qualifying event.
The injuries also changed the way he viewed competition.
“Going away and trying to improve your craft and then coming back and focusing on competing again was quite healthy.”
He was in Australia for the recent WSL stop at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast, where he got an early taste of the atmosphere he’ll experience in Raglan.
“I did a lot of free surfing around the pros so I could get the vibe of what it was like to be around them. It’s super competitive, the energy is definitely different around the pros.
“It’s intense they’re all on a mission to be world champion and the way the approach even a practice session is so different to what I’m use to.
“It’s made me excited.”
Despite the scale of the occasion, Butland said he would still approach the New Zealand Pro like any other event.
“Nothing changes, just keep it solid, nothing to prove other than proving something to myself.”
Butland will need to progress from a preliminary round to make the main draw, but said that up against the world’s top 32 surfers, every heat will feel like a final.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand