KEY POINTS:
Ben Willis caused the biggest ripple on a day of big swells at the Northern Regional surf lifesaving championships in Mount Maunganui yesterday.
The 20-year-old Wellington-born sprinter, competing for New Plymouth Old Boys, took a major step toward New Zealand selection by winning the beach flags. He scrambled past defending champion Paul Cracroft-Wilson in an absorbing final, with triple world champion Morgan Foster departing in a major surprise three rounds earlier.
Willis has his specialist event, the beach sprint, today and a win there may be enough to elevate him into July's world championship team ahead of Cracroft-Wilson and Foster.
"I came out to make a statement," Willis said. "I've been the young one on the scene for a little while but I've been competing a lot in Australia and I really came to set out what I'm about over here."
The championships end the build-up to next week's Lion Foundation Surf League, also held in Mt Maunganui, which pits New Zealand's top seven provinces against each other.
Elsewhere, the 2m swells rumbling into the main beach caused chaos, with the surf boats and the ski and board schedules drastically pruned.
Of the finals completed, Mount ski paddler Lisa Carrington claimed the open women's title, though not before a massive set of waves ruined the chances of her main rivals.
"I was one of the first ones to fall off," Carrington admitted. "I just waited and got a gap in the waves and was able to get through. It was pretty big though - the race was definitely about patience rather than power."
The boat arena suffered the most damage, with oars splintering like matchsticks and crews capsizing in every race. Aside from pride, the worst injury was just a bruised knee.
New Zealand captain Glenn Anderson (Papamoa) was in imperious form in the men's surf race, heading home Midway's Matt Sutton and Westshore's Daniel Moodie, while New Plymouth's Ayla Dunlop-Barrett proved her pool swimming abilities extended onto the beach with victory in the women's surf race.
New Plymouth Old Boys took the double in the beach flags with Chanel Hickman winning the women's event, beating the host club's Chelsea Maples in the final.
