Source: Radio New Zealand
Maya Mateja (L) and Billy Stairmand celebrate their national championship surfing titles. photosport
Raglan surfers Billy Stairmand and Maya Mateja have picked up the premier prizes at the national surfing championships north of Gisborne.
It was ninth national title for Stairmand, while 17-year-old Mateja bagged her second crown, with both handling the unruly 1.5m waves at Makorori Beach with aplomb.
Stairmand was delighted to snare his first piece of national silverware since 2021, the 36-year-old needing to see off the largest field of surfers in the past two decades.
“I had a couple of scrappy heats this week, it was small most of the week but contestable and I just couldn’t find my rhythm,” he said.
“I actually changed up my boards today too which was good and I saved my best performance until last. My ninth title feels real good.”
Billy Stairmand. photosport
Stairmand tallied 17.84 points to dominate the final, with defending champion Alexis Owen of Dunedin finishing runner up.
The women’s final was closer, clinched by Mateja when she scored a late wave score of 5.73 for a total of 12.80 to narrowly pip Ariana Walker.
Maya Mateja at the national surfing championships in Dunedin. Surfing NZ
“I feel so happy and blessed, super grateful to be here with my family and enjoy the event and get the win this week,” said Mateja.
“Really hard conditions today, I didn’t know what was going on out there because I couldn’t hear the scores coming out. The other girls were surfing good, so I knew I had to concentrate on getting more good waves for the win and when I came into the beach, I found out that I did enough.”
Owen won the under-18 boys title while Taranaki claimed the under-18 boys title.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand