A total of 800 surf athletes
from 34 clubs will compete at the Eastern Region Championships (ERCs) during Anniversary weekend. Red Beach has 95 lifeguards – one of the largest club contingents - entered for competition at the Mt Maunganui venue.

It’s the next biggest surf lifesaving event after the New Zealand Championships and is regarded by competitors as the springboard for the premier event which will be held at Midway Beach, Gisborne in March.

And for just the third time at the ERCs, events get underway on Friday with a twilight session comprising of beach sprints, beach relays and double ski races. The twilight events kick off at 4.00 pm.
Saturday’s events commence at 8.00 am and there’s also an 8.00 am start on Sunday. The boat & canoe arena is south of Main Beach and also commences at 8.00 am Saturday.
Red Beach will have seven canoe crews and two surf boat crews on the water.
With the ERCs now one of the fixtures for the NZ Surf Boat Series, there are 34 boat crews entered for competition.

Temperatures in the Bay of Plenty during Anniversary weekend are forecast to be hovering around 30C. Fine weather and light winds are predicted. The surf at the Mount has reportedly dropped away to a .3m swell.

For the programme & more information on the ERCs, click here