Last year’s Subaru Pro winner Sally Fitzgibbons is excited that so many local businesses have pitched in to safeguard the tour event. “I enjoy our two week stay there every year and winning the event last year was truly a special feeling,” she said. “Taranaki reminds me of home. I love the countryside meeting the sea and think it’s an awesome tour location. This year’s event is much anticipated, and having the community’s support makes all the girls feel so welcomed every year.”

Fitzgibbons will return to New Zealand to defend her place on the podium at the recently re-christened Dow AgroSciences Pro. She’ll be up against the rest of the Top 17 and a wildcard entrant. The wildcard will be awarded to the winner of the ITL NZ Women’s Open on April 10. Kiwi Sarah Mason — who recently walloped a couple of top seeds in the opening rounds of the Roxy Pro Gold Coast as an injury alternate — won the wildcard in 2010 and 2011.

Thanks to the overflow of homegrown support, the New Zealand Surf Festival has actually expanded. In addition to the women’s Pro, which is in its third year, the festival will now include men’s events, as well as competitions for masters, groms, and aerial specialists. On land, festival goers can check out a surf photography exhibition and a carnival at Fitzroy Beach.

“By having this event each year, run by Surfing Taranaki, now our top NZ female surfers have a pathway to getting a taste, hunger and realization that professional surfing is achievable,” says current New Zealand women’s champion Thandi Tipene. “The event is also supported by fantastic local and national sponsors who see the value in backing professional surfing. The festival has a great line up of events and I’m positive this year the surf will be pumping so I wouldn’t miss the show as it truly will be a spectacle to remember.”

The TSB Bank New Zealand Surf Festival is on from April 6 to 15.