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What an incredible week for surfing in Dunedin with the 2024 New Zealand Surfing Championships in town and a week of Dunner Stunner conditions.
I must admit I had to recalibrate my mindset a bit. I looked at the tiny swell forecast and found myself apologising for the "poor" surf conditions on most of the contest days. However, surfers from the North Island were completely fizzing at the waves on offer. What we sometimes forget is that the East Coast of the North Island can go flat for weeks. Even months. So a cleanish 1-3 foot swell is quite the sight in comparison.
We had a great patch of waves over Christmas and New Years, but I realised that our 4/10 is an 8/10 for most people. We're spoilt.
The 2024 Nationals ramped up to the Open Men's and Women's finals on Saturday and it was an incredible show. The depth of talent has improved to the point that from the quarterfinals onwards the surfing on display is nothing short of world-class.
We had some standouts among our local talent, too, with Nixon Reardon and his sister Jaya stepping up big time to push deep into the closing stanzas of the event. Nixon made it into the quarters with Jaya narrowly missing a finals berth. Jack McLeod also impressed after breaking his favourite board in a big barrel at Blackhead during a free surf earlier in the week. He fell in a tight semi-final – by the slimmest of margins against some of New Zealand's best surfers.
It was 15-year-old Maya Mateja who came through to win the Open Women's title with Taranaki's Daniel Farr taking the Open Men's title, his second, after equalling defending champion Dune Kennings' score. Farr got the nod for having the highest single-wave score.
It was an epic final showdown with the natural amphitheatre around the SCBRA clubrooms packed with people cheering and bathing in the balmy hot sunshine and 30°C-plus conditions.
To all involved, take a bow. That was a superb showcase of Dunedin with unrivalled hospitality.
See you at the beach .. Derek
PS You can read our full 2024 NZ Surf Championship coverage and photo essays over on New Zealand Surf Journal.
Box of Light is made possible thanks to these visionaries: