Waterbourne Beach Festival Starts Tomorrow In Mt Maunganui

Waterbourne Charitable Trust is bringing their premier beach festival to the Bay. The festival will be held on Mt Maunganui Beach and Wairoa Reserve and is a three day event featuring different water sports.

Alongside the sports, the overall incentive is to ensure the beach is preserved for generations to come, this is a core pillar at the heart of the Trust.

None of this could be possible without the fantastic support from EVES, Tip Top,Squid Group, TECT, Tauranga Council and Tourism Bay Of Plenty.

EVES, an Industry leading real estate company partnering with Waterbourne and also adding to the unique experience, with the EVES New Zealand Paddle Boarding National Championships.

EVES Real Estate has a long history of community support, firmly believing in giving back to and supporting the local community. Event organiser Laurence Carey says “to have EVES onboard with the same vision as the Waterbourne Charitable Trust is great! They understand the importance of being sustainable whilst providing everlasting experiences for the community.”

The EVES SUP Paddle Boarding Nationals is expected to attract athletes from around New Zealand. SUP Racing includes the technical sprints and distance with the sprints on tomorrow at Wairoa Reserve. The other races are held at Mount Main Beach. Overall, the combined sports are expected to bring in over 100 athletes.

Also alongside this is the NZ Foil Centre Wingfoil Weekend, seeing people of all ages compete in wingfoil racing – one of the fastest growing water sports in the world.

Another exciting event as part of Waterbourne is The Tip Top Paddle Ninja Games which will see competitors take on paddleboarding with a twist – trying to stay on their board as they tackle an inflatable obstacle course.

The 2022 NZ Beach Volleyball Tour Finals, also running alongside Waterbourne, is expected to bring in 80 athletes.

Waterbourne has had some changes due to Covid restrictions, despite this the event is one of only a few still able to go ahead at the Red Traffic Light setting, after facing a number of roadblocks along the way.

“Due to restrictions we have had to restructure and change the wider festival as we have had to cancel all our music shows including international headliner Sub Focus from the UK,” says Waterbourne Event Organiser Laurence Carey. “Alongside these major changes, we have had to build in contingencies to ensure athletes and public are separated into groups of 100 to fit within the current Guidelines.”

“We are working with the wider paddle board community to ensure they feel safe competing at the red light setting, where some obstacles cannot be overcome like when athletes are unvaccinated.”

SUP Nationals is funded by REF (Regional Events Fund) which was overseen by Tourism Bay of Plenty. The fund was brought in by the government to assist the tourism sector during Covid 19 Pandemic. The REF fund was also further boosted by a allocation from community based trust TECT.

TECT Trustee Mark Arundel says the NZ SUP Nationals will bring many benefits to the region.

“Stand up paddleboarding is a fantastic sport that keeps so many people in our community active, fit, and out enjoying our beautiful natural environment. “Hosting the Nationals here will help reinforce Mount Maunganui as the pinnacle location for paddle boarding and water sports in New Zealand. We look forward to seeing the wider Waterbourne Festival bring hundreds of visitors to our region to see all we have to offer.”

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