\u201cThe world\u2019s best surfers are coming here, and they\u2019re coming to one of the most iconic waves on the planet. It\u2019s incredibly special.\u201d<\/p>\n
A global event years in the making<\/p>\n
The event officially begins on Friday, after a practice day on Thursday, but Raglan locals are likely to spot famous faces in the water well before that.<\/p>\n
Kennings said some may have arrived up to seven days before competition \u201cjust getting time in the water and adjusting\u201d.<\/p>\n
Apart from three\u2011time world champion John John Florence, who has taken the season off, every major star on the World Surf League tour is expected to compete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the best surfers in the world, the people you watch on TV, the people kids grow up idolising,\u201d Kennings said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have them here, surfing Manu Bay, is phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand talent takes on elite<\/p>\n
Adding to the excitement is a strong local representation.<\/p>\n
New Zealand has been allocated wildcard spots for the event, and those have been claimed by two surfers in scintillating form.<\/p>\n
Tom Butlin of Taranaki secured his place after winning the Backdoor King of the Point event, while Alani Morse, just 15 years old and from Raglan, claimed the Queen of the Point title to earn her wildcard.<\/p>\n
They will line up alongside Billy Stairmand, a two\u2011time Olympian and the country\u2019s highest\u2011ranked surfer on the Challenger Series.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Alani especially, this is something truly special,\u201d Kennings said.<\/p>\n
Alani Morse and Tom Butland won the Queen and King of the Point titles and will surf in the Championship Tour event in Raglan. Photo \/ PhotoCPL, Surfing NZ<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knows that wave better than almost anyone, and her performances just keep improving.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s young, fearless and extremely talented and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if some of the world\u2019s best are a little nervous facing her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Managing the crowds<\/p>\n
With global interest comes a logistical challenge, and organisers have worked to put a comprehensive transport and parking plan in place to handle the expected influx safely and efficiently.<\/p>\n
Limited space at Manu Bay means there is no spectator parking at the surf break. <\/p>\n
Instead, everyone attending will be required to park at the Raglan airfield, from where a dedicated shuttle service will operate throughout the event.<\/p>\n
\u201c[We\u2019ve] created a system similar to what\u2019s used during the Soundsplash Festival,\u201d Kennings said.<\/p>\n
Alani Morse, 15, won the Queen of the Point title and a World Surf League wildcard. Photo \/ PhotoCPL, Surfing NZ<\/p>\n
From the airfield, a fleet of about 50 buses will transport spectators to and from Manu Bay daily.<\/p>\n
Roads to Manu Bay will be closed on competition days, but will reopen on lay days when surfing conditions prevent competition.<\/p>\n
While the event itself is free to attend at Manu Bay, spectators will need to cover transport costs.<\/p>\n
Bus tickets are $10 per day for a return trip, or $50 for a festival transport pass, which covers the entire 10 days.<\/p>\n
\u201cSurfing events around the world are free to attend, and we want to keep that tradition while covering transport costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Raglan, the event is about more than competition results.<\/p>\n
It marks a moment when the town\u2019s deep surf culture, history and global reputation converge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is international sport on our doorstep,\u201d Kennings said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids will be watching people they normally only see online or on TV, surfing waves they\u2019ve grown up riding themselves. That\u2019s powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graeme \u201cMintie\u201d Mead is a sports commentator, the host of the radio show Waikato All Sports Breakfast and a Newstalk ZB overnight host. He is also a councillor on the Hamilton City Council.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe world\u2019s best surfers are coming here, and they\u2019re coming to one of the most iconic waves on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[95,11429,806,1561,3390,1550,4596,26636,28247,8231,1437,4508,59965,14731,48955,111,139,69,51041,8693,213,18694,2564,2558,1961,23272,686,1533,377,17450],"class_list":["post-423233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-and","tag-arrive","tag-as","tag-bay","tag-best","tag-centre","tag-competition","tag-crowds","tag-descend","tag-event","tag-global","tag-hits","tag-landmark","tag-league","tag-manu","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pro","tag-raglan","tag-sports","tag-surf","tag-surfers","tag-surfing","tag-this","tag-universe","tag-week","tag-will","tag-world","tag-worlds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}