A record number of entries will compete in next week's National Surfing Championships in Taranaki.
More than 400 surfers have signed up for the 62nd National Championships which featues a total of 29 divisions including the premier Open Men and Women.
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There's also additional divisions comprising of age groups from Under 14 boys and girls through to Over 60s for males and females and Longboard, Stand Up Paddleboard, Bodyboard, Kneeboard and adaptive disciplines.
Both 2024 champions Daniel Farr of Taranaki and Maya Mateja of Raglan will defend their elite titles.
Also competing in the women's division is international star Paige Hareb who last won the title in 2022.
With Taranaki having an abundance of surfing spots, organisers can pick from a half a dozen venues from Fitzroy in the north to Opunake in the south depending on conditions.
The week long event starts on Sunday and is the 10th time it has been hosted by the West Coast region, with the most recent in 2019.
Up for grabs is the Peter Byers Overall Performance of the Event Award.
Peter Byers started surfboard building in 1958 after being visited by Californian lifeguards Bing Copeland and Rick Stoner.
Remembered as one of the pioneering board riders and the founding father of board making in New Zealand, Byers passed away in 2012 at the age of 71.
Surfing New Zealand honours the memory and pioneering work of Byers with a surfboard shaped trophy shaped out of West Coast Kauri by local craftsman Clive Barron.