World Surf League: Raglan swarmed by world champions as sport’s biggest event comes to town
On the footpath outside the Raglan Surf Co’s iconic store, colourful chalk words mark the concrete.
The writing on the pavement is welcome messages for some of the globe’s best surfers, who this week descended on the Waikato beach town (population 3900). There’s space for the visiting celebrities to return the favour and sign their names in pinks, yellows and greens.
The international stars are here for the latest leg of the World Surf League (WSL) and the coming fortnight is a milestone moment for the sport in New Zealand. It’s the first time the WSL has held a men’s Championship Tour (CT) in the country in its 50-year history, and the first time since the 2013 competition that the women’s event has visited these shores.
With both tours kicking off this month, more than 50 of the world’s best surfers will be in action over the 10-day event window.
It’s a clear morning when the Herald visits Raglan on Thursday, and the talk outside the store’s coffee window hummed excitedly about the action at Manu Bay’s famed left-hand point break. Over the past week, world’s pros have attacked strong swells like kids playing on a playground, and Thursday’s conditions for the official practice day are just as inviting.
It’s a different story for the actual competition window, which is open from May 15-25, with the forecast showing some potential at the beginning and end of that period but not so much in the middle.
Travelling out to Manu Bay isn’t simply a case of hopping in the car and driving over, though. The famed break is a natural beauty, with only a small car park and a toilet block on the site.To get the influx of guests out to watch the action, a park-and-ride style shuttle runs from just outside of town. Spectators can buy a single-day pass for $10 or an event pass – covering the full 10 days – for $50. The venue has a maximum capacity of 6500 spectators at any one time.
The drive from town to the shuttle site passes colourful signs of support for Raglan wildcards Billy Stairmand and Alani Morse on the corner of the road leading up to Raglan Area School – where Morse, 15, is still a student.
Manu Bay was confirmed to host the fourth stop on the CT in January, and town local Angela Massey says the lack of infrastructure around the break made it a bit of an unknown.
“That’s part of its charm, it’s a very well-renowned point with very little commercial enterprise around it. Like, zero. I mean, basically, you’ve got a toilet block and that’s it,” she says.
“So to bring an event of this calibre to a small town, you create a bit of a monster because you’ve got a lot of things that have to be built from scratch.”
After a 10-minute bus ride, spectators step straight into the event atmosphere.
Walking down the hill after arriving on Thursday, there were no bad vantage points. The grass bank was already lined with people at 10.30am, plenty with camping chairs, blankets, food and drinks on hand as they made a day of it. Towards the end of the day, a man fired up a portable hob and begins cooking sausages on a frying pan.
Further into the event site, near the rocks where the athletes exit the water, fans of all ages eagerly waited to get signatures on a variety of surfaces; some more traditional like T-shirts and hats, others more inventive, like rocks.
The site now features two sizeable temporary structures to service the event. One is an area of athletes and VIPs and the other for the broadcast and judging teams.
Food trucks have been set up and there are smaller stalls for things such as merchandise. There’s a good selection of merch on Thursday, but some disappointment from fans that a T-shirt with Stairmand’s name on the back had been misprinted with an Australian flag rather than a New Zealand.
The event was made possible with funding from the Government’s events attraction package, which is an invite-only pool for large events that have the potential to attract audiences and international visitors.
“That really just triggered five months of mayhem to get the event in place, to get all the permits and stuff,” Surfing New Zealand chief executive Ben Kennings said.
“WSL have been wanting to come back for ages. Everybody talks about there not being enough left-handers on the world tour, and that’s what Raglan offers.
“I know everyone’s put in a lot of effort to get here and now we just need the surf to play ball a little.”
Kennings admitted that you can’t please everyone when it comes to hosting a major event like this in a small town but said the community had been very supportive.
He says there were several meetings with Tainui, the local iwi, and boardrider clubs, while community consultation had taken place following confirmation of the event – particularly with residents of Whale Bay who live further around the coast from Manu Bay and beyond the traffic management area.
While the Waikato District Council was not involved in delivering or funding the event, it has played a role in its regulation and coordination.
“It’s been really good, but you just have to work through those other bits and pieces [and] make sure all the permits are in place,” Kennings said.
“Usually, no commercial activity in Manu Bay; so that’s a real challenge to get across and it’s required for these events because they don’t have a stadium ticket take, so you’ve got to try and claw back some money through the partnerships they have and make sure the event pays its way.”
With the Gold Coast Pro finishing only a few days into its competition window this month, the athletes had been able to make their way to New Zealand with plenty of time to familiarise themselves with a new wave on tour.
But they had also been seen around the town going about their business. WSL commentator Joe Turpel related an anecdote about seeing three-time world champion Gabriel Medina happily interacting with fans while shopping for groceries.
Massey said the athletes have shown the town a lot of respect.
“You will talk to people in town who are possibly quite anti, but I think most people now have got over that first concern because they’ve seen, certainly the ones that have met the surfers coming into town ... that they’re coming with respect for the environment.”
As well as being the official practice day, Thursday hosted the WSL Rising Tides programme, where 30 young Kiwi surfers – an equal split of boys and girls – paddled out and surf with some of the CT competitors so there was an extra level of stoke from many of the young fans in attendance.
Massey, who has been involved with Raglan Area School in various roles for much of her time since moving to the town 30 years ago, says the excitement in the younger surfers has been constant with the event on the horizon. The school is auctioning off a repurposed surfboard at the Raglan Club, with all money raised going towards its art department.
But while the next generation of Kiwi surfers are enjoying the moment, Massey hopes local businesses will also benefit.
“It’s hard for them over the winter, and that’s why it’s good to have these.”
The event is in New Zealand on a one-year deal, replacing famed South African right-hander Jeffreys Bay – known colloquially as JBay – as the league decided that event was not financially viable in 2026.
Kennings remains hopeful that it is not a one-and-done situation.
“Fingers crossed we’ll see it back. I know the WSL are working really hard on it. It’s not usually their modus operandi to have one-year agreements, which this was, but hopefully they’ll be able to apply to the major events fund and then get perhaps a three-year deal or something like that.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.