A strong Australian-based contingent and some long awaited swell will hit Mount Maunganui ’s Main Beach this weekend at the Northern Regional surf lifesaving championships.

The two-day carnival is second in size only to the New Zealand nationals, with a record-breaking 980 athletes expected to compete from 39 clubs across the country.

Queensland-based Kiwis are expected to dominate the open ranks, with the likes of Kevin Morrison, Mike and Dan Janes, Maddie Boon and Paul Cracroft-Wilson returning from across the Tasman for the carnival.

They’re using it as a valuable lead-in to the Lion Foundation Surf League at the same venue in a fortnight.

But perhaps the key arrival this weekend will be from a north-easterly swell, expected to peak early on Sunday morning, after a long period of flat surf on the North Island ’s East Coast...

“We’ve had six or seven weeks of just nothing – the locals have been calling it Lake Maunganui ,” Mount Maunganui club coach John Bryant said. “It’s come up a little bit this week but everyone is just amping at the prospect of a decent swell this weekend.”

While Bryant will be using the event to help select his Bay of Plenty surf league team, national coach Scott Bartlett and his assistant Cory Hutchings are penciling in the final names for a wider squad building up for this year’s world championships in Egypt.

Of most interest will be the highly competitive beach sprinting and flags arena, which will feature three world champions in Cracroft-Wilson, Ben Willis and the evergreen Morgan Foster.

Former Olympic swimmer Dean Kent will compete in the surf races, teaming up with his brother Steven for the Titahi Bay team, while New Zealand surf lifesaving team captain Glenn Anderson is again bringing a strong team up from the New Plymouth Old Boys club he coaches.

The open women’s ski race will feature the world's No 1 ranked open ocean ski paddler, Mairangi Bay's Katie Pocock, who will tangle with Youth Olympic kayakers like Teneale Hatton (Orewa), Paekakariki's Kayla Imrie and Titahi Bay's Alyssa Blyde.

Two other ski combatants, New Zealand squad members Nikki Cox (Westshore) and Boon (Midway) will also be warm favourites for the women's ironman title.

Contestants in the surf boat arena will be using the event to build up for next week’s round of the national series at Waihi Beach, while Gisborne’s Midway club, coached by Hutchings, will be aiming for a third consecutive win in the overall points tally, after heading home local club Mount Maunganui for the last two seasons.

The championships start on both Saturday and Sunday at 7.45am, with categories including open men and women, under-23 men (surf boats only), under-19 men and women and under-16 men and women.

During the event you'll be able to follow the results online with our Live Results system.

From left, Paul Cracroft-Wilson (Fitzroy), Ben Willis (Paekakariki) and Morgan Foster (South Brighton), who will all compete at the Northern Region championships in Mount Maunganui this weekend.