Olympian Hewitt rejoins Canterbury surf team

Olympic triathlete Andrea Hewitt has given the Canterbury surf lifesaving team a massive boost by accepting an invitation to compete in this weekend's Lion Foundation Surf League in Mount Maunganui.
Hewitt cut her teeth in surf lifesaving, collecting a remarkable 43 national titles through the junior and senior ranks before beginning her triathlon career four years ago.
She was eighth at the Beijing Olympics and finished the ITU season ranked ninth last year but a change in the triathlon calender means the 26-year-old is available again for the Surf League at Mount Maunganui.
“Canterbury asked me to compete last year as well but the Olympics were the main focus, plus the World Cup racing has been starting in March for the last three years,” Hewitt said.
“This year, the world championship series is my first big event and it doesn’t start until May so I’ve got a bit longer to build up and this fits in really well.”
Hewitt last dipped her toe into surf lifesaving competition in 2005 and was in the Canterbury surf league team for six years until 2004, including the side that won four titles in a row from 1999-2002.
She switched to triathlon in 2005 and promptly won the world under-23 title in Japan.
She has gone on to win a Commonwealth Games bronze medal and was New Zealand's best-performing female triathlete in Beijing last year.
She will compete in the surf race and beach relay this weekend but will wait to see what conditions are like before committing further.
“I haven’t trained specifically for this but I’ve been doing a lot of base training for the triathlon season. The Canterbury crew said I wouldn’t go jumping on a board if it was too big – I got on one last week and you definitely need a bit more practice than twice a year, especially if the waves come up!”
Hewitt’s presence is a further boost to the event, which has already attracted 20 top New Zealand surf athletes back from their Australian bases for the two-day, rapid-fire competition involving eight provincial teams.
Hewitt’s Canterbury teammates will include triple world beach flags champion Morgan Foster, while Hawke’s Bay will be boosted by the return of three-time New Zealand ironman champion Daniel Moodie, who is now based in Queensland.
Hosts Bay of Plenty go into the competition as defending champions, while four-time winners Auckland and three-time champions Gisborne will be warm favourites.
Organisers are eagerly tracking a sub-tropical low which is predicted to provide a big lift in the swell in time for the first day’s competition on Saturday.