Exit Surf Men’s Canterbury Champs to Complete 2022 NZ Surf Series this Weekend
Consecutive South Island events wrap up a shortened 2022 New Zealand Surf Series this weekend with the Exit Surf Men’s Canterbury Championships taking place at New Brighton Beach attracting a top field of domestic surfers.
The three-day event window spans through to ANZAC Day on Monday with good conditions forecasted throughout the weekend for top Kiwi surfers to revel in.
Current NZ Surf Series leader and National Champion Daniel Farr (Tara) will look to round out his season with a good performance to hold onto his big lead over his opponents. After winning the National Championships in January, Farr finished runner up at the Emerson’s South Island Champs that were contested at Dunedin last weekend.
Farr is joined by the likes of Raglan’s Caleb Cutmore who is tucked in at second overall and 2021 NZ Surf Series winner Taylor Hutchison (Rag) who will be eager to find his winning ways at this event.
Taranaki Surfer and 2022 National Champ Daniel Farr
There will be a number of local Christchurch surfers that perform well in home waters including Harrison Whiteside who will compete for the first time this season after coming back from injury. Myka Black is another surfer that will be out to take down any surfer he comes up against. Plus a throng of young guys will be keen to impress including Tyler Perry, Jake Owen and Jai Oakley.
The Exit Surf Men’s Canterbury Championships plays host to a raft of additional divisions, including junior and senior plus longboard.
The top three seeds in the Under 18 Boys Division will continue their campaigns this weekend. Kalani Louis (Tara) has a good lead over Kaikoura’s Tyler Perry who sits in second place. Third placed Jai Wallis (Piha) continues his ascent up the rankings after two recent finals berths, including a runner up finish last weekend.
The Christchurch duo of Jack Tyro and Rakiatea Tau go into this weekend’s event as the top seeds in the Under 16 Boys Division while Alexis Owen (Dun) and Sonny Lyons (Kaik) resume their battle in the Under 14 Boys Division.
Senior divisions include some of the top seeds in the Exit Surf Open Men’s Division such as Ruben Woods (Mnt) and Josh Thickpenny (Dun) in the Over 30 Men’s Division while Neill Robb (Chch) heads up the Over 45 Men’s Division.
Zen Wallis (Piha) claimed the longboard win at the South Island Champs and will enjoy the chance of going up against Christchurch’s Hugh Ritchie who finished runner up at the national Championships in January.
The full draw can be viewed here on Live Heats. Current rankings for the NZ Surf Series and NZ Grom Series can be viewed here on the Surfing New Zealand website.
The Exit Surf Men’s Canterbury Championships boasts a $7,500 prize pool across all divisions. The event will take place from 8am – 4pm daily and is based out of the North Wai Boardriders clubrooms. On Sunday afternoon, the clubrooms play host to the Pacific Road ANAZ Ramp Jam in conjunction with ITM and Metalcraft Roofing.
Further Information
For further information on the 2022 Exit Surf Men’s Canterbury Championships, please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
High resolution action images of the surfing at the event will be available to media free of charge.
Partners
Generous support from Exit Surf, Garden City Flooring, Joyce and Co, Make Collective, Smooth Star, Christchurch Scaffolding, Ocean and Earth, the Robertson’s and McKenzie’s plus Mainland Community Trust have made the event possible. The event is being hosted by North Wai Boardriders.
Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:
Sport New Zealand
Water Safety NZ
Skinnies
Volkswagen
