The New Zealand Junior Surfing team. Photo / Salina
Three young Bay of Plenty surfers are among the seven new faces representing New Zealand at the World Junior Surfing Championships.
The team, made up of New Zealand's top 12 junior surfers, is competing at the 2019 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship at Huntington Beach in California this week.
Among the 12 are seven new faces - three of whom include Mount Maunganui's Georgia Wederell and Luke Griffin and Ōhope's Jack Lee in the Under 18s.
The championship is the largest junior surfing event in the world playing host to over 340 surfers from 44 nations in 2019. Catering to athletes in the under 16 and under 18 boys and girls divisions, the international competition got under way with a parade and opening ceremony on Sunday (NZT) and will run until November 4 (NZ).
Leading the way for the Kiwis are two surfers in the Under 18 Divisions – Gisborne's Saffi Vette and Raglan's Caleb Cutmore. The two surfers enter the event for the final year before moving up into the open age category. In 2018 Vette and Cutmore were the team's top performers advancing well into the event finishing 16th and 13th respectively.
The 2019 New Zealand Junior Surfing Team:
