Anderson back in surf lifesaving fray

New Zealand surf lifesaving captain Glenn Anderson will make a return to the beach as he tries to help his Taranaki team retain the Lion Foundation Surf League title in Mount Maunganui.

Anderson has opted to sit out the DHL International Surf Challenge as New Zealand battles four other nations over three tests from January 31 to February 4, resting after a gruelling international campaign last year at the world championships.

But he’ll lead a star-studded Taranaki team named today for the two-day inter-provincial championship on February 5 and 6, which also features a team from New South Wales this year.

Included in their ranks are national beach flags champion Steve Harris, world flags champion Paul Cracroft-Wilson, national surf race champion siblings Ayla and Dylan Dunlop-Barrett and world champion IRB champion Andrew Cronin.

Auckland, second last year, have national representatives Travis Mitchell, Kirsty Wannan and Rachel Clarke to call on, as well as ironman Chris Moors, who finished ninth in the Coolangatta Gold earlier in the season. Another New Zealand star, Kevin Morrison, will be competing in his 10th campaign for the northern team.

There is plenty of interest in the Wellington ranks too, where former New Zealand ironwoman star Anna Ballara makes a surprise comeback.

Ballara was a member of the last New Zealand team to win the world championships in 1998, where she won the board race, and returns to the Capital team  from her Queensland base.

Hawke’s Bay features current New Zealand ironman and ironwoman champions Daniel Moodie and Nikki Cox, while Gisborne can boast Mike Janes, who recently finished 17th on the lucrative Kellogg’s Nutrigrain Ironman Series in Australia.

Hosts Bay of Plenty, who finished third last year, have called up 16-year-old rookie Natalie Peat, who has just been named in the New Zealand development team, while Canterbury can call on twin sprint champions Morgan Foster and Chanel Hickman.

With New South Wales adding an international element to the Surf League this year, the fast-paced, two-day event will feature 17 events a day, with under-19 athletes competing on Mount Maunganui's Main Beach in the morning and senior athletes doing battle in the afternoon.

It is the final event in the nine-day Festival of Surf Sports, helping celebrate 100 years of the movement in New Zealand.

Teams:

Open:

Taranaki: Steve Harris, James Morwood, Jaron Mumby, Connie Richards, Katie Watts, Daniel Nelson, Glenn Anderson, Paul Cracroft-Wilson, Andrew Cronin, Kent Fraser, Dylan Dunlop-Barrett, Ayla Dunlop-Barrett, Charlotte Webby.

Auckland: Travis Mitchell, Kevin Morrison, Chris Moors, Michael Lee, AJ Maney, Zachary Franich, Patrick Maney, David Butt, Brent Matuschka, Naomi Young, Bailey Elliott, Rachel Clarke, Kirsty Wannan.

Bay of Plenty: Jamie Banhidi, Daniel Peacocke, Brad Wilson, Kendall Elliott, Kurt Wilson, Andrew Roy, Arna Wright, Andrew Newton, Troy Walsh, Katrina Madill, James Ryan, Natalie Peat, Damian Munro.

Gisborne: Daniel Harris, Daniel Willock, Pera Gibbs, Maia Gibbs, Ryan Wiggins, Toby Harris, Devon Halligan, Monique Francois, Matt Kemp, Mike Janes, Matt Sutton, Maddie Boon, Cory Taylor.

Hawke's Bay: Ashton Tuck, Shane Bennett, Ben Gillies, Nikki Cox, Daniel Moodie, Tamsyn Mcgarva , Scott Bicknell, John O'Malley, William Anderson, Ben Cross, Jared Phelps, Hamish Beattie, Larissa Cowlrick.

Canterbury: Eddie Finch, Damian McNaughton, Chanel Hickman, Morgan Foster, Sinead Lomax, Kate Johnston, Ben Phillips, Peter Rattray, Tara Smith, Steven Drabble, Carl Righton, Hadyn Lockie, Andrew Roberts.

Wellington: Murdoch Finch, Mitchell Logan, Richard Whinham, Adelaide Cox, Brent Harvey, Sam Blyde, Michael O'Connor, Megan Blair, Anna Ballara, Danny McDowell, Teina Stacey, Chantelle Cowlrick, Kelsey Moffatt.

New South Wales: Jake Lynch, Sarah Cook, Aaron Benson, Emily Chaffey, Nathan Gray, Tara Coleman, Tahnee Flemin, Dane Farrell, Tommy Bertherlson, Daniel Booth, Ed Gourley, Rachelle King, Shannon Hulbert-Green.

Under-19:

Taranaki: Troway Hayes, Ben Nelson, Mitchell Owen, Hayden Halse , Nam Northcott, Casey Stevens, Scott Nelson, Isaac Robinson, Jared Gray, Nikaela Gilmer.

Auckland: Sam Dwen, Shane Edwards, Kirsty Wannan, Danielle McKenzie, Emily Hodge, Dylan French, Jarred Powhare, Andrew Saunders, Caitlin Ryan, Matt Johnston.

Bay of Plenty: Kirby Wheeler, Chad Wheeler, Karina Radley, Richard Murray, Dan Hooker, Jess Miller, Max Beattie, Kodi Harman, Blake Williamson, Cara Ryan.

Gisborne: Pera Gibbs, Jamison Gibson-Park, Briar Wilkie, Chris Dawson, Oliver Puddick, Jemma Torrie, Cory Taylor, Toby Harris, Devon Halligan, Britta Carroll.

Hawke's Bay: Tim Cox, Kieran Foley, Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Clair Benson, Blair Turvey, Simone Baarspul, Cian Jefferson, David Benson, Katie Moodie , Megan Beattie .

Canterbury: Ryan Quickenden, George Thomas, Alice Dimond, Jack Nash, Alex Fort, Danielle Currie, Zac Quickenden, James Bishop, Finn Brown, Sam Holland .

Wellington: Hayden Andrews, Mitchell Logan, Emma Robinson, Tyler Maxwell, Thomas McCarthy, Jake Allen, Megan Blair, Seth Forbes, Kayla Imrie, Brooke Watt,