Source: Radio New Zealand
Paige Hareb competed at the Women’s Championship Tour when it was hosted in New Plymouth. (File photo) Katrina Clarke
Taranaki’s surfing community, -the only region in New Zealand to have previously hosted the globe’s elite surf competition, is stoked for its Raglan cousins who will hold a combined men’s and women’s World Surf League event in May.
The Women’s Championship Tours stopped at Fitzroy Beach in New Plymouth between 2010 and 2013 sparking a surge of interest in the sport – particularly women’s surfing.
Craig Williamson was event director for the Taranaki Surf Festival which included what was then the ASP Women’s Dream Tour.
Reflecting on the groundbreaking event ahead of the World Surf League coming to Raglan, the Surfing Taranaki chief executive said the idea was to give a local favourite a leg up.
Craig Williamson was event director when the WSL’s predecessor the ASP brought the Women’s Dream Tour to Taranaki between 2010 and 2013. ROBIN MARTIN / RNZ
“Paige Hareb had just qualified for the world tour, the first New Zealand female to ever do so. She was young at the time.
“So, that was a huge deal for surfing in New Zealand and in Taranaki and we thought that perhaps we could pull something together here and give her a home town advantage.”
Williamson said the festival – which was pulled off with the help of 60 community partners – had left a lasting impression.
“It was incredibly inspiring for young surfers all around the country. I bump into people who are young adults now a lot of them and they are still surfing and they talk about what an effect it had on them to actually see the world best here.”
He said the impact of the visiting athletes went beyond what they demonstrated in the surf.
Promotional poster for the Taranaki Surf Festival. ROBIN MARTIN / RNZ
“I remember vividly when we had Bethany Hamilton, the Hawaiian who’d lost her arm in a shark attack, speaking to like a whole classroom, a whole group of youngsters – mostly young girls.
“I’m sure they remember that and it had an impact on them, you know, in terms of what you can do in spite of obstacles that can be put in you’re way.”
Now based in Australia, Paige Hareb remembered the competition fondly.
“Yeah it was pretty cool. At the time I and probably didn’t realise how good I had it, but yeah looking back now it was definitely a special moment to be able to surf in front of friends and family in your home breaks and show it off to all the other girls and the rest of the world is pretty special.”
She said the New Zealand stop was popular with her fellow competitors.
Paige Hareb in action during the 2022 Nias Pro in Indonesia. (File photo) PHOTOSPORT
“Everyone loved it. I know there was a lot of hype about it before they even went there and I think the worst part of it was that it was maybe too cold for them some days, but we got really good surf and everyone loved it the sea and the mountain I guess is pretty spectacular for anyone who doesn’t live there.,
She saw evidence of the Taranaki Surf Festival’s legacy every time she comes home.
“When I was growing up I was one of the only girls in the water and now I go home and there’s at least one other girl out every time I surf there, so yeah, there’s definitely a lot more females into surfing and out in the water which is cool to see.”
Hareb – who would compete for a wildcard into the Raglan competition – expected the Waikato settlement to be pumping during the 10-day event window.
Bruce Gatwood-Cook was media manager for the Taranaki Surf Festival.
A member of the New Plymouth Surfriders Club for about 20 years, he said the audience for WSL events was mammoth.
“It’d be in the millions of the reach we’d be getting because we provided packages to sports networks in Australia and America, Hawaii, South Africa to Europe.
“So, it would be impossible to quantify exactly how many people we reached, but we were reaching a global audience.”
He said WSL events were a marketer’s dream.
“At the same time as livestreaming footage of the heats and highlights of the heats, we also provided b-roll of mountain shots and scenics of the arena.
“So, typically as you see with sporting events like that they’ll have cutaways of the beach and local mountains and scenics like that of the country which really help destinations.”
As a surfer himself, Gatwood-Cook was also taken with the impact the surfers had with fans.
“We just had throngs of young girls idolising Paige Hareb let alone all the other superstars on the women’s circuit and it really created an aspiration for them that I could be that person and I could do that and also seeing how they surfed giving them inspiration to surf like that.”
Meanwhile, Izaro Williamson Sasia was a just a toddler when her dad ran the Taranaki Surf Festival.
Izaro Williams Sasia can’t wait for the world’s elite surfers return to New Zealand in May. ROBIN MARTIN / RNZ
Now a national under 18 and women’s longboard titleholder, she was stoked the world’s best surfers were returning to New Zealand.
“I don’t have any memories of it when it was here in Taranaki because I was only little, but I just can’t wait it would be such a cool experience to see it live and it’s been something I’ve always wanted to do, so I can’t wait. Like there’s no way I’m not going.”
The New Zealand Pro, which had attracted government major events funding, would run from the 15t-25 May at Manu Bay, Raglan.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
