Kehu Butler is one of four Mount Maunganui College surfers off to the World Junior Surfing Championship in Ecuador.
Kehu Butler is one of four Mount Maunganui College surfers off to the World Junior Surfing Championship in Ecuador.
Mount Maunganui College surfers have dominated the selection of the New Zealand team to contest the 2014 Vissla ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Salinas, Ecuador from April 5-13.
Four students were selected in the 12-strong team this week, which is easily the most to come from one school inany New Zealand surfing team. Add in Jordan Griffin from Tauranga Boys' College and the Western Bay region has the highest representation in the team of any in the country.
The elite Mounties are up against more than 250 entrants from 30 nations around the world but have enjoyed good local success with Jonas Tawharu (Under-16 boys), Elin Tawharu (Under-16 girls) and Kehu Butler (Under-14 boys) all crowned national champions earlier this year.
Butler, 14, would compete in the Under-16 division in Ecuador in what would be his second world championships. Elin Tawharu, 12, and Kea Smith, 13, were the youngest in the team and were likely contenders in the Under-16 girls' division, with another talented Mount College student in Raiha Ensor a non-travelling reserve.
It was Tawharu's older brother Jonas' first championship and he would compete in the Under-16 Boys' Division, with Mount's Kayden Mayes the non-travelling reserve.
The Mount surfers would not be on their own in South America, though, with college surf coach and teacher Khan Butler travelling as the New Zealand co-coach and manager.
Mount Maunganui College director of sport Naomi Bates said it had been a huge effort from the surfers but was a massive boost to all the students at the college.
"It is always wicked to have representatives from the college and it is nice to see the surfers are setting the standards at the start of the year," Bates said.
