Stairmand surfs wave of Kiwi pride

Raglan surfer feels ‘super comfortable’ as he aims for Tokyo medal, writes

RAGLAN’S Billy Stairmand is oozing confidence as he gets set to make history in surfing’s debut at the Olympics in Japan.

Stairmand will be up in heat three of the men’s championship today with Whangamata’s Ell Williams contesting the fifth heat of the women’s event later in the day.

The 31-year-old Stairmand, an eight-time national champion and veteran of 11 years on the tough international circuit, doesn’t hold back with his aspirations as surfing gets a chance to go mainstream at these Games.

‘‘I feel super comfortable. I believe I can make a few heats and my goal is to get a medal for New Zealand in surfing,’’ Stairmand told Sunday News as he transferred from Tokyo to the venue at Tsurigasaki Beach, in Chiba, south-east of the capital on the Pacific coast.

‘‘I’ll be doing everything I can to do that. I believe in my ability and my preparation, so I’m feeling pretty comfortable and confident.’’

Stairmand has never managed to crack the top tier of the professional World Surf League. But that’s more to do with the fickle qualifying format than his ability.

He has an all-round game that will make him competitive in

any conditions. With the prospect of some decent swell in the forecast, he is fizzing to put his skills on show at a beach break where he has had success in the past, finishing third in a highly ranked qualifying series contest in 2016.

With just 20 surfers involved in both men’s and women’s competitions, he has a tough opening heat with WSL hotshots Kolohe Andino (USA) and Julian Wilson (Australia) competing, along with Peru’s Lucca Mesinas.

There’s no intimidation for Stairmand, who has collected some big scalps including Kelly Slater, the world’s greatest surfer, in testing conditions in Western Australia in 2011.

‘‘It’s a tricky heat . . . they are all good heats. I’ve competed against most of these guys before, so it’s just a name,’’ he said of his opening opponents. ‘‘I’m going out to surf how I want to surf a heat, and focus on what I can do out in the ocean. I’m not too worried about who is in my heat, I’m just trying to do my own thing out there.’’

The format sees the top two surfers from the five heats advance to the third round.

The bottom two surfers go into two repechage second round heats of five surfers. Three advance from there.

‘‘You can go out in your first heat and give it your all and hope it turns out well. If it doesn’t work out your way, there’s a second chance which is good,’’ he said of the required approach. With travel restrictions limiting his international opportunities over the past 18 months, Stairmand has made the most of New Zealand surf and plentiful waves have him primed. ‘‘We’ve been lucky with good waves at home. I was travelling around New Zealand a lot, trying to get a few different conditions, testing out some new boards. Everything went smoothly.’’

The Kiwi surfers, accompanied by coach Matty Scorringe and a physiotherapist, have been embracing the Olympics scene.

‘‘It’s all exciting for us as a new Olympic sport. We’re just having so much fun over here, enjoying the whole process and everything that comes with it,’’ Stairmand said. ‘‘We’ve had the best of both worlds, being in the village and heading out to the coast. We’ve been making the most of it, it’s such a cool environment.’’

Williams has a good draw. The former world junior champion has a tough opponent in young American Caroline Marks, but will fancy her chances against Portugal’s Yolanda Hopkins and Costa Rica’s Leilani McGonagle.

There will be pressure on surfing to live up to expectations and Stairmand says there’s been plenty of buzz around its introduction. ‘‘It’s a new Olympic sport, there’s talk around the village — ‘watch the surfing, be a part of the surfing culture’. The good thing is I think there are going to be waves, it could be quite sizey which will make it exciting for the people that don’t really follow surfing.’’

‘We’re just having so much fun over here, enjoying the whole process and everything that comes with it.’ BILLY STAIRMAND