Gisborne star Cory Taylor and triple world beach flags champion Morgan Foster will headline the revamped Bay of Plenty surf lifesaving championships in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.

More than 300 surf athletes will compete at the championships, which have been moved to a pre-Christmas slot and given added prestige.

Midway's Cory Taylor on his way to victory in the under-20 board race at the Rescue 2012 world championships in Adelaide earlier this month. Photo by Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Journalism.

Taylor, 20, has just returned from the Rescue 2012 world championships, where he starred for the New Zealand under-20 team, winning gold in the ski race, board race and ironman. The Midway Club member will face stiff competition this weekend from fellow national teammates Sam Shergold (Mount Maunganui) and Ben Johnston (Papamoa), while Papamoa's Natalie Peat also starred at the world championship and should feature in the open women's division.

Evergreen Foster has been one of New Zealand's best beach sprinters for nearly two decades, showcasing his abilities when he finished third in the interclub component of the world championships a fortnight ago.

Foster's presence will add further spice to the beach events, which will also signal the return to competition of New Zealand and Australian beach sprint champion Kodi Harman (Papamoa), who missed the world championships with injury.

Olympic kayaker Luuka Jones will compete for Mount Maunganui in the ski races, while a strong international contingent includes Great Britain team captain George Haynes and French team member Julien Lalanne, who are both training with Mount Maunganui over summer.

Organiser Scott Bicknell, Surf LIfe Saving New Zealand's club development officer for the region - believes the Bay Champs has become an important event on the competition calendar.

"There are no other major carnivals scheduled for Mount Maunganui until the State New Zealand Championships in March and the quality of the athletes on show has really elevated the event," Bicknell said.

"We're delighted with the standard and expect to see some fast, furious racing."

The event will also feature IRB racing, with a handful of west coast crews making the journey to prepare for next week's BP Surf Rescue round in Whakatane. Racing will start on Saturday at 8am.