Surf's up for masters

By STEVE HART

About 40 international competitors will be among 300 surfers taking part in the International Surfing Association's Fosters World Masters Surf Titles in Taranaki.

Surfers from California, Hawaii, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Fiji, England and Ireland are arriving to take on New Zealanders for the world title.

The Fosters World Masters Surf competition is a new event and open to any surfer over 35. It starts on Tuesday, April 15, runs for six days and is expected to draw thousands of spectators.

International entries range from South African over-35 champ Dave Mulherbie to Rob Bain, a former Pipeline winner. Among the 260 New Zealand entries are around half-a-dozen former national champions. They include Mike Abbott, Iain "Ratso" Buchannan, Ton Deken, Jason Mathews, Chris Ransley and John Gisby.

The event is being hosted by the New Plymouth Surfriders Club, which has been holding its own annual Masters Surf Champs since 1989.

Among many non-surfing events are a crack at the world record for surfboard stacking by the Oakura Boardriders Club on Thursday, April 17. Club members says they will attempt to stack more than 150 surf boards on the roof of a car and then drive it 200m along the road.

Event organiser Wayne Arthur said: "What's fantastic for local surfers is that this is the first time they can win a world title in a New Zealand contest."

www.worldmasterssurf.com