Mount Maunganui surfer Tim O'Connor spent a lot of time on the world stage but the chance to do it with a little local team is giving him some frothing grom vibes.

The 34-year-old former New Zealand junior representative is the elder statesman in the Bay Boardriders team competing in the world club championships - for the $100,000 Usher Cup - on the Gold Coast this weekend.

He and local teenage stars Jack Hinton, Elin Tawharu and Tao Mouldey will battle the best 30 clubs from around the world at famous Gold Coast break Snapper Rocks, starting today, January 19.

Having spent nearly a decade charging the fast-breaking barrels at the break, Tim knows exactly what to expect.

"It's a pretty crazy wave and I wouldn't rush back there these days, just because it's so crowded, but the level of surfing is phenomenal," he says.  

"On any given day, you're going to see world champs and tour legends out there and we'll get to experience all that without the crowds.

"The cool thing about the team format is that the surfing ability is always at a high level but the best surfers don't always necessarily win.

"Tao is surfing amazingly and Jack and Elin are all class - if I can add some points where I can and we can get the right team strategy, we've got a great culture and we will go pretty well."

Together with coach Owen Barnes, manager Nathan Mouldey and Bay Boardriders president James Jacobs, the team will take on the likes of California heavyweight clubs Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz, Hawaii's Maui and Kauai Boardriders clubs and Legian from Bali, along with the cream of Australian clubs.

Local legend Owen helped the Bay of Plenty team qualify, winning the New Zealand championships in dramatic dropping surf in Whangamata last year, but has stepped aside with the Usher Cup's four-person format to impart his knowledge.

The Usher Cup is directed by the godfather of Australian surfing, Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew, who helped come up with the concept and is a life member and former president of hosts, the Snapper Rocks Surfriders Club. 

The concept sees the likes of former World Tour competitors Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson regularly compete for their local clubs.

Tim, meanwhile, is currently spending his winters in Bali and summers in New Zealand, running a quantity surveying and estimating company, with clients throughout the South Pacific.

It's a dream gig for the Mount local, who has twice won New Zealand title events; the O'Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro in Gisborne in 2012 and last year's Rip Curl Pro Raglan in an encore career performance.

"The Boardriders club was nowhere near what it's like now, back when I was competing, and what Owen and James have done in recent years is pretty amazing," he says.

"Even though I'm getting a bit older, I'm still so passionate about surfing and it's been great to reconnect with the Boardriders, get involved with this team and to start helping out the younger crew.

"I love being around to lend advice where I can but it's also just kind of cool to bring the whole community together and know the names of the young kids out in the surf when I see them now."