Ensor leads Kiwis in Japan

Raiha Ensor, left, and Kehu Butler are competing at the world junior surfing champs in Japan. PHOTO: FILE

The New Zealand Junior Surfing team mixed success with defeat on day four of the World Junior Championships in Japan, with the team securing four wins throughout the day combined with three team members exiting the event all together.

Raiha Ensor (Mount) led the team surfing her way into the last eight surfers in the qualifying round of the Under 18 Girls Division. She was joined by Elliot Brown (Dun), Saffi Vette (Gis) and Caleb Cutmore (Ham) who all advanced out of their respective heats.

Day four saw the biggest wave on offer yet with a decent 1.0m swell which became affected by the onshore winds as the day wore on.

Ensor contested one of the toughest heats of the day, advancing in second place behind the highly touted Kirra Pinkerton (USA). Together, the two surfers eliminated top Hawaiian seed Brissa Hennessy.

Ensor posted 11.50 out of 20 to advance after getting an early start to the heat.

"I got my first wave within the first 30 seconds and it came in as a mid-five and I knew I just had to build on that," she said.

"Getting that first wave kept me calm but I was also focused on the fact that I needed a back-up. I ended up getting a six midway through the heat and then from there it was just a matter of closing out Brissa who was in third by using my priority."

Ensor liked the fact that waves looked and surfed similar to her home breaks at Mount Maunganui.

Her fellow Mount Maunganui team mates competing in the qualifying rounds were not so fortunate with Kehu Butler and Jonas Tawharu both being relegated to the repechage rounds of the Under 18 Boys division and William Van Der Beek suffering the same fate in the Under 16 division.

Late in the afternoon, the New Zealand Team secured two more heat progressions with Saffi Vette (Gis) advancing through to the third round of the Under 16 Girls. And in the last heat of the day, it was Hamilton's Caleb Cutmore that advanced in second place in the second round of the Under 16 Boys.

The New Zealand Team had three surfers eliminated from the event on day four.

Jared Gebert (Ohope) bowed out of the Under 18 Boys, finishing 65th overall. Dylan Preston (Mount) was eliminated in the same round of the Under 16 Boys, also finishing 65th. Tegen Bishop (Chch) was eliminated from the Under 16 Girls, finishing 33rd overall.

Elin Tawharu (Mount) and Kaya Horne (Mount/Gold Coast) were scheduled to surf late in the day before organisers decided to halt proceedings. The two surfers will be up early on day five of the event.

The swell is forecast to decrease heading into day five and continue that trend through to the weekend when the finals will be contested.

After day four, New Zealand are eleventh. France, Australia, Japan and USA are tied for first having not lost any surfers from the event.