Mount Maunganui's Raiha Ensor and William Van Der Beek have advanced the cause of the New Zealand Junior Surfing team by advancing through crucial second-round heats in Japan.
The Moko New Zealand Junior Surfing Team is competing at the 2017 Vissla ISA World Junior Championship being held at Hyuga, Japan.
Ensor advanced out of qualifying round 2 with another strong performance late in her heat to post 10.93 out of 20. She took 10 minutes to catch her first wave but racked up 5.33 and 5.60 point rides in quick succession to go from fourth to first in the small 1.0m waves.
"It was really, really slow. In the heat before there were more waves but when ours started there were none. The other girls got waves and I was starting to get nervous but then I got a couple of fives and made it through with a win," Ensor said.
Ensor's teammate Elin Tawharu (Mount) was not so lucky in her match up, finishing third and dropping down to the repechage rounds. Tawharu did not manage to find any decent waves in her heat and finished with a 7.67 point heat total.