Corona Piha Pro – Event Guide Download HERE
Event Window:
14 March Piha Pro Junior
15 March NZ Trials
16- 22 March 2020 Corona Piha Pro Challenger Series
Location: Piha, Auckland, New Zealand
Event Information: The Corona Piha Pro marks professional surfing’s triumphant return
to New Zealand. Piha, on the West Coast of NZ’s North Island is a 45-minute drive from
Auckland city and is capable of producing world-class waves. Being the second
Challenger Series event of the 2020 season, the Corona Piha Pro will play an allimportant part in elite Championship Tour qualification.
Communication with the Event Team
The best way to contact us is via the email – info@pihapro.co.nz
Or go to the Facebook Page setup for locals and ask us anything about the event.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PihaProLocals/ or visit our WSL Piha Pro Facebook
Page.
Resident Vehicle Access Passes
For those Piha residents who have letterboxes, they have had their passes dropped into
their mailboxes on 10 February 2020.
For those residents who don’t have letterboxes they can go to the Piha Library, (hours of
operation) Monday 10am – 1pm, Thursday 3:30 – 5:30pm and Saturdays 10-1pm to pick
up their passes. Or they can contact us on: info@pihapro.co.nz
Please feel free to contact us regarding anything you need.
Public Vehicle Access Parking Permits
Due to expected traffic congestion and limited parking while the Piha Pro takes place,
vehicle access into Piha township will be restricted to parking permit holders only. As a
result, we recommend carpooling as much as possible to ensure maximum value for
attendees.
People who are coming to watch the event will need to book a vehicle permit online
through www.iTicket.co.nz and select the day/s they wish to attend. Make sure to get in
quick as these vehicle access parking permits are limited.
Each car will be scanned through a managed access point located at the turn-off to
Karekare Road and Piha Road. Please clearly display your car permit on the front
windscreen/dashboard of your vehicle.
Please park in the designated car park as directed on the day and adhere to all signage
and directions given by event staff. Once you have parked your car, leave it in the
authorised car park for the duration of your visit. Walking around Piha is recommended.
Working with The Piha community
Event organizers plan to provide key event information, including opening hours and
menus to all visitors of Piha businesses such as the Piha Café, Piha Store, Mexican
Takeaways, RSA, Bowling Club and Piha Surf Life Saving Club.
We have had numerous meetings the community groups. Some of our opportunities are
to allow managed fundraising initiatives around the event precinct. A list of the groups
we have consulted with are as follows:
1. Te Kawerau a Maki Iwi Authority
2. Piha Fire Service
3. Piha Ambulance First Response Unit
4. Piha Bowls Club
5. The Piha Store
6. Piha Café
7. Murrays Mexican Takeaways
8. Piha Campground
9. Keyhole Board Riders
10. Piha Board Riders Club
11. Lion Rock Board Riders Club
12. Piha Surf Life Saving Club
13. United Surf Lifesaving Club
14. Piha Fishing Club
15. Piha RSA
16. Rapu Surf School
17. Piha Surf School
18. Pest Free Piha
19. Piha Surf Shop
20. Lion Rock Surf Shop
21. Piha Library
Many of the plans have been adapted since the Community consultation meeting to
address various concerns received.
Drone Mitigation
The event will be using drones to capture imagery for the international broadcast. The
drones will only be deployed by certified operators with the appropriate license during
certain times of the event.
If there are birds flying in the vicinity of the drone, then an instruction will be given to the
drone pilots not to fly the drone. The drone equipment is very expensive so equally they
will not risk the equipment being damaged by flying it around birdlife. The event will also
deploy signage to ask the public not to fly drones.
Wildlife Protection
In terms of vehicles moving around the event and endangering birdlife. We do not
anticipate any of our vehicles going into the natural environment of the birds and
therefore see this as a low-risk. If we are launching jetskis on the beach where there
may be seabirds, then we will take every precaution to avoid contact with birds or
wildlife.
We will also communicate via our messaging to the public about the wildlife and
encourage messages of awareness and protection.
Jetski Operators
We are employing local jetski pilots from Piha who clearly understand the endangered
species of the Maui Dolphin. The jetski pilots will be briefed in the following manner if
they see a Maui Dolphin in the surf arena
The jetski operator will be asked to de-power their jetski into low speed or neutral so
there is absolutely no risk to harming a Maui dolphin.
Once the Maui dolphin has left the surf arena, then normal speed can be resumed to
continue the safety services of the jetski pilot.
This instruction will also go to our jetski pilots for operating around other sea mammals
(eg, whales)
The event also has a permit from the Auckland Harbourmaster that reserves the water
space for the event organisers. This permit also uplifts the 5 knot rule for the jetski
safety craft to operate in the area or the purposes of water safety to the athletes and the
public.
Sand Dunes
We are fencing part of the dune area off to the public. We will be informing the public to
keep off the sand dunes to protect the dune biodiversity. We recognise that we cannot
mitigate against all people standing on the dunes as fencing the entire sand dune area is
cost-prohibitive. We will however deploy signage to inform the public of members of the
local community. We cannot remove the public should they decide to stand on the
dunes, as we are unable to trespass anyone on the dunes as we do not have the
authority to do so.
The Environment – messages to the public
This is a sustainable event. Single use plastics are banned. Remember to bring
your reusable drink bottles to fill up from supplied water tanks and keep cups for
any hot drinks during the event Please minimise your rubbish at the event and recycle in appropriate bins.
The council parks and beaches are smoke-free and the event is smoke-free
No dogs are permitted on the event site
Please keep off sand dunes at all times to protect the dune biodiversity
The area has been affected by kauri dieback disease. Please clean soil off your
footwear and other gear every time you enter or leave an area with native trees,
and at every cleaning station
Please be careful when walking along public tracks in the Piha area. Some of the
tracks require sturdy footwear. Please keep on the tracks for your safety.
Act with caution and sensitivity around the wildlife such as the Grey-face Petrels,
Dotterels, Tui, Kereru, Fantails and Blue-face Penguins
Piha is often frequented by Māui dolphins, which is an endangered species. We
ask that if you see a Māui dolphin, please report it to the event organisers and to
the Department of Conservation by calling 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468)
This is a fire-ban area. No fireworks or open fires please
Event Partners:
Corona
Sky Sport
New Zealand Major Events
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development
Jeep
Harvey Norman
Bonsoy