Rust (19) is targeting the world qualifying series event off the Northland coast from February 6-9 to get a breakthrough to events in Australia.
"The winner will get travel and accommodation expenses to the Australian qualifying series at Noosa Heads in March," he said.
Rust has worked hard on his techniques this year in order to take the next step towards the world qualifying series.
He is now mixing the traditional side of longboarding with progressive movements that he has adapted from the shorter boards.
"I have new equipment that I can open up to the progressive movements," Rust said.
Aerials are an important part of the short board routine and Rust is now able to use some of these manoeuvres on the long board as well.
"I am trying to combine the traditional and progressive styles to formulate my own routine," he said.
Surfing judges allocate extra points when tricky movements are done successfully.
His other key event this season will be the New Zealand championships at St Clair Beach from January 13-16.
Rust completed one year of a marine science and geography degree at the University of Otago in 2009 but took this year off to sail the South Pacific.
He intends to do part time study next year while working at the family business. Rust grew up in a surfing family and the sport has been in his blood from the start. He is the son of Rod Rust and his mother, Katherine Greer, is the managing director and co-founder of Hydro Surf.
Rust was a promising short board surfer when he was a pupil at Logan Park High School but his life changed when he tore the ligaments in his left knee when surfing at Allans Beach in 2007.
Rust needed reconstruction surgery to repair his knee and has concentrated on the longboard since that time.
He demonstrated his skills on the longboard when he won the junior event at the Kaikoura event during the Pro-Am series and the New Zealand Scholastic title in 2008.
"That was the tipping point for me," Rust said.
Rust was sixth on the tour last year and runner-up in the under-18 boys division.
Rust, one of the taller surfers on the tour, won his first national title when he took the gold medal in the boys under-18 longboard event at Opunake two years ago.
In 2007, he won the South Island under-16 stand up surfing circuit and the Kaikoura pro-junior longboard title.
Rust was preparing for a yachting adventure in the South Pacific and did not put his energies into last years national longboard series.
"I landed on 15 islands and had good surfing conditions on nine of them," Rust said.
The other New Zealand events he will contest this season are at Mount Maunganui (February 20-21) and Port Waikato March 4-5.
SURFING SUMMER
The schedule
• January 13-16, NZ championships, Dunedin.
• February 6-9, world qualifying series, Northland.
• February 20-21, NZ series, Mount Maunganui.
• March 4-5, NZ series, Port Waikato. Mid-March, world qualifying series, Noosa Heads, Australia.
