For six months Noah Maggs has trained alongside his older brother Conner.
This weekend, he'll try to earn the right to race him as he goes toe to toe with the nation's best Surf Lifesaving prospects at the Shaw and Partners Iron Series trial.
Bachelor of Business student Maggs joins fellow Bondies, Bachelor of International Relations/Laws student Milly Derbyshire along with alumni Cyra Bender and Archie Vernon for the two gruelling days of racing at Tugun.
At the end of the weekend, the top 21 men and women will earn their place in the seven-round Iron Series.
They will join the 24 athletes who secured automatic qualification from last season, including 2026 ADCO Sports Excellence Scholar Jasmine Rayward and Bond alumni Joe Collins and Cory Taylor.
“This has been the biggest offseason I've had in a while and I'm just excited to start racing again,” Maggs said.
“Coming into the event, I'm not preparing myself for a single strategy as conditions are always changing but I'm going to try to use my stronger disciplines to my advantage.
“They key is to be as consistent as possible because the trials aren't always about who has the best single race, but multiple races.
“Making the series would mean the world to my family and me…my parents have sacrificed so much and put so much time and effort into helping me achieve my goals.
“Racing next to my brother in the series would be a pretty amazing experience.”
Bender knows exactly what it takes to survive the qualification weekend, having earned her maiden Iron Series berth last year.
But her debut campaign was derailed by stress injuries in both shins before a finger injury suffered in a kitchen accident further interrupted her season.
Now back to full fitness, Bender is relishing the prospect of earning another shot at the Series and lining up alongside fellow Northcliffe athletes Lana Rogers and Naomi Scott.
“I am super excited to race this weekend," Bender said.
"This is one of the first times I've been able to have an uninterrupted off-season so I've been able to get some really solid training in.
"Preparation wise, we have been doing lots of kilometres and it's been good to see the rewards of that strong base as we shorten up into the trial.”
The trial will test athletes across a range of formats designed to replicate the demands of the Iron Series.
Saturday's program features two traditional ironperson races before a gruelling 20-to-25-minute Enduro, with the field progressively cut ahead of Sunday's racing.
Those who progress will face another Enduro on Sunday followed by two traditional ironperson races, with Series qualification on the line.
Despite a strong pulse of swell expected late in the week, competitors should face manageable conditions at Tugun.
Saturday is forecast to offer waves around the one-metre mark before the swell eases further on Sunday.