Source: Radio New Zealand
Alani Morse during the 2026 New Zealand National Surfing Championships in Gisborne. © Surfing New Zealand / PhotoCPL 2026 / PHOTOSPORT
Taranaki’s Tom Butland and local Raglan surfer Alani Morse have secured wildcards for the Raglan leg of the WSL World Tour next month.
The two surfers won their respective divisions at the King and Queen of the Point event at Manu Bay.
Butland, 24, battled through a field of 112 surfers in the Open Men’s Division while 15-year-old Morse topped a field of 32 surfers in the Open Women’s Division.
The two surfers will now face off against the best in the world when the tour arrives in New Zealand, joining Raglan surfer Billy Stairmand as the three Kiwi representatives.
The three surfers join an elite group of five others to have surfed at the top echelon of the sport.
Butland stormed to victory in the final after a slow start, scoring 8.50 then a 7.87 to jump into the lead ahead of Elliot Paerata, Kora Cooper and Tao Mouldey.
“Yeah, pretty special, I don’t even know where to start out. I’m pretty stoked,” said Butland.
“The conditions put it on for us in our final, and boys were ripping.
“It’s wild to think about the wildcard, I’m kind of tripping on it, eh, I can’t even believe it, to be honest.”
Morse was the youngest of the women’s finalists and she left it until her last wave with less than a minute remaining to score a 6.93 and jump from fourth to first.
“I was in tears after that final” said Morse.
“I just knew that I was gonna get a wave at the end, so I was kind of just waiting, like I was at peace with the whole heat, and I know everyone was stressing on the beach, but I knew God had it under control and… yeah, I can’t believe what just happened.”
“The May event (WSL) is a big opportunity. It’s really exciting. Yeah, I’ll be able to push myself against some really amazing surfers, so I’ll be really excited and training for all that.”
The WSL Corona Cero New Zealand Pro takes place from 15-15 May at Manu Bay and features the top sixty surfers in the world.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
