Omanu Surf Life Saving Club won the masters category at the Eastern Bay Energy Trust New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships at Ohope Beach on Thursday.

Some 300 masters athletes, aged 30 years and over, battled it out for top honours during the first day of the four day Surf Nationals competition which runs until Sunday.

Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club. Photo: Vendi Photography

Event favourites the Mt Maunganui Lifeguard Service took second while the Whakatane Surf Life Saving Club rounded out the podium in third.

Event manager Prue Younger says it was a fantastic first day of the Surf Nationals and it was great to see so many Masters athletes out there enjoying the event.

'We were also very fortunate with the weather because despite the forecast and the high-cloud, we never saw any rain which is obviously a huge bonus.

'We also can't wait to see what today brings, especially with our 1,300 younger athletes showing up who will create some close racing I'm sure.”

The oldest competitor taking part in today's events was 85 year old Sid Salek from Omanu Surf Life Saving Club in Tauranga, who finished second in his age group for both the beach flags and beach sprint races.

An additional 1,300 athletes will descend on the Whakatane beach today for the next three days of competition, bringing the total number of competitors to over 1,500 for the four-day event.