Torquay surfer Rori Reyntes says a good nose ride feels like flying.
Fresh off the back of the World Surf League Championship Tour stop in Raglan this month, the surfing community's focus is turning to Fitzroy Beach in New Plymouth where the Egmont Honey Pro is bringing top-level longboarding to Taranaki.
A surfing style often associated with older athletes, this weekend's world tour qualifying event features a healthy contingent of teenagers.
Longboarding was the classical surf format featuring boards nine-foot plus in length and instantly familiar moves such as the 'hang ten', where surfers perch perilously at the front of their boards.
Gold Coast surfer Luana Matthies, 15, is the number one ranked woman in Australia / Oceania, but she's far from the only teen in this weekend's line up.
