Stairmand takes 9th, Mateja 2nd NZ surf titles
- editor59343
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Raglan surfers Billy Stairmand and Maya Mateja have claimed the premier divisions of the 2026 National Surfing Championships north from Gisborne.
Under moody skies and unruly 1.5m waves at Makorori Beach, they added to their tallies, Stairmand extending his impressive record to nine while 17-year-old Mateja claimed her second title.
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Having last won a title in 2021, 36-year-old Stairmand had to battle the largest field of surfers in the past two decades for the win and by his own admission had battled to find his feet during the seven-day event.
“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. I actually changed up my boards today too which was good and I saved my best performance until last,” stated Stairmand who finished with a 17.84 point heat total for the win in what ultimately was a dominant performance.
“I started with that left hander and got an 8.67 then I got a right that allowed three good turns and I thought it was better,” he added of his second scoring ride – a 9.17.
“My ninth title feels real good. Stoked on the win going into Hawaii next week, it looks like some good swell around over there, the conditions will be a bit different to here, that’s for sure,” said Stairmand who departs to Hawaii on Tuesday to contest the second last WSL Challenger Series event of the series.
Defending National Champion Alexis Owen was the only surfer that stayed in reach of Stairmand posting an 8.33 point ride to open the final. Needing a near perfect 9.51 point ride for the win, the Dunedin rider remained patient all final looking for the opportunity but the clock beat him and he had to settle for a well-deserved runner up finish.
Taranaki's Daniel Farr finished the final in third place and together with first time finalists Cooper Roberts (Mnt) in fourth, was left requiring a combination of scores to match Stairmand.
By contrast the women’s final was an edge-of-your-seat match up with 0.67 points separating first from fourth with the lead swinging several times through the 25 minutes.
Mateja grabbed the win late and on her last scoring ride of 5.73 to post a 12.80 heat total for her second title, her first coming in 2024.
“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,” she added.
Mateja was proud to win alongside Billy as someone she looks up to. “I love his surfing, it means a lot to me to win alongside him today and take two titles back to Raglan,” she said.
Second and third placed surfers Ariana Walker (Mt Maunganui) and Leia Millar (Piha) both finished in fourth with Walker getting the nod by way of her 7.40 point ride as the highest of the two surfers. Walker was another surfer to sit patiently and wait for a final good ride after taking the early lead in the final but the young surfer fell short by the time the final hooter sounded.
Millar again only needed a small 6.11 ride for the win in her first year out of the age groups but the conditions didn’t give her the opportunity to challenge for her first title. Alani Morse (Rag) while finishing fourth, was never out of the title race after surfing five heats on the final day of the event, chasing a small 5.4 point ride for the title.
