Source: Radio New Zealand
Three-time world champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil after Thursday’s practice session. Rambo Estrada/WSL
For the next 11 days, Raglan is set to shift from laid-back surf town to the centre stage of world surfing.
The World Surf League arrives at Manu Bay on Friday, marking the first time New Zealand has hosted a combined men’s and women’s Championship Tour event.
The world’s best surfers, global media crews, sponsors, influencers and fans have descended on Whāingaroa as the usually quiet coastal community takes on a festival atmosphere.
Crowds of up to 7000 are expected to gather along headlands and the shoreline to watch elite surfers tackle one of the most famous left-hand breaks in the world.
Who are the big names to look out for?
Brazil continues to dominate the men’s Championship Tour, with a core group of surfers setting the pace in recent seasons.
Gabriel Medina is an Olympic and three-time world champion known for his powerful, precise surfing and ability to deliver under pressure in high-stakes heats.
Italo Ferreira, surfing’s first Olympic gold medallist at the Tokyo Games, brings explosive energy and a fast, dynamic approach that can quickly swing a heat.
Italo Ferreira during Thursday’s practice session in Manu Bay. Ed Sloane/WSL
Yago Dora represents the progressive edge of the tour, with aerial manoeuvres and high-risk, high-reward surfing that can produce huge scores.
In the women’s field, Australia’s strength is clear.
Stephanie Gilmore, an eight-time world champion, remains one of the most accomplished competitors in the sport, known for her smooth, controlled and highly refined style. Alongside her, Molly Picklum has emerged as one of the tour’s rising forces, combining modern power surfing with growing competitive consistency.
What about the local hopes?
New Zealand’s challenge is led by Billy Stairmand, the country’s most experienced competitor and a proven performer in powerful left-hand waves like Manu Bay. He will carry much of the home expectation in familiar conditions.
Wildcard Tom Butland adds a free-swinging X-factor, entering the Championship Tour with local knowledge and nothing to lose.
Fifteen-year-old wildcard Alani Morse is one of the youngest surfers in the field, earning her place after winning a qualifying event in Raglan. A homegrown talent from Whāingaroa, she arrives with strong local backing and a rapid rise through the New Zealand junior ranks, now stepping onto surfing’s biggest stage.
Waikato teen Alani Morse speaks to media ahead of her WSL debut. Rambo Estrada/WSL
What’s special about Raglan as a venue?
The competition will be centred on Manu Bay, one of the country’s most famous breaks and a long, perfectly formed left-hander that peels along a volcanic reef. Its combination of consistency, ride length and natural amphitheatre viewing makes it a rare venue capable of hosting Championship Tour surfing.
How does the competition work?
Competitive surfing is basically a knockout tournament held in the ocean, where athletes compete in timed “heats” and try to catch the best waves available during that window.
On the championship tour, the opening and elimination rounds typically feature heats with three surfers, the top two advancing. From then on it’s one-on-one until the trophies are given out.
Heats are around 20-30 minutes long, and during that time surfers can ride as many waves as they like, but only their best two are counted toward their score.
Each wave is scored out of 10, and the two highest-scoring waves are combined. For example, a surfer scoring 8.5 and 7.0 would have a total of 15.5. Surfers with the highest combined scores advance to the next round.
How does the judging work?
There are no goals, laps or finish lines-just waves. Judges score each ride out of 10 based on factors including speed, power, flow, difficulty, variety of manoeuvres and degree of risk.
The emphasis is on the quality and progression of performance rather than simple completion.
Billy Stairmand will be flying the flag for New Zealand in the men’s field. Rambo Estrada/WSL
Why can’t I find a schedule online?
There is no fixed schedule for the event. Surfing is one of the few professional sports dictated entirely by nature and it can be a waiting game.
As a result, the event runs within a flexible window rather than on fixed competition days, with organisers choosing when to run heats based on swell, wind and tide conditions. The Raglan event is set down from 15-25 May, with the competition expected to be held over four to six days within this 11-day window. Organisers will make “daily status calls” each morning to determine if conditions are suitable to run the heats that day.
Can you talk me through some of the lingo?
Surfing comes with its own shorthand.
A “set” refers to a group of waves arriving together, often the most valuable scoring opportunities in a heat. “Priority” determines who has the right of way to choose or take the next wave.
A “barrel” or “tube” describes the hollow section of a breaking wave that surfers aim to ride inside.
“Drop-in” is when a surfer takes off on a wave already being ridden by someone else – usually a penalty-inducing mistake.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand