New Zealand's top IRB drivers are preparing for a big swell this weekend for the national competition in Whangamata.
The Coromandel holiday spot is hosting the BP Surf Rescue New Zealand IRB championships, starting on Friday and going through until Sunday.
Organisers are anticipating a true test for the 300 competitors from 28 clubs nationwide with a depression off the east coast of the country expected to kick up a groundswell of up to 3m.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand sport manager Mike Lord said they were monitoring the conditions and he thought there was a very decent swell building for the weekend.
"Competitor safety is our priority but at the same time, as Tana Umaga said so well, this isn't tiddlywinks and our IRB drivers and crew train in big waves all the time. One of the fundamental roles of an IRB in surf lifesaving is to get out to patients quickly in dangerous conditions, which might be too much for a swimmer with a tube, and having our national championships with a good wave running is the ideal scenario to test those skills."