Surfing: NZ junior team through to fifth day

IN FORM: Raiha Ensor and Kehu Butler, right, are performing well at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Califirnia. PHOTO/JOHN BORREN

The New Zealand junior surfing team made a late afternoon charge at the 2015 Vissla ISA World Junior Surfing Championship yesterday to progress half the team through to the fifth day of the event.

In small 1.0m waves affected by light onshore winds, the Kiwi's got the day off to a slow start losing several surfers by lunch time before Mount Maunganui surfers Kaya Horne and Kehu Butler turned the team fortunes around with heat progressions in the Under 16 Boys Division.

Butler had a contentious heat win after the waves he caught on the starting hooter were missed by the judges.

The waves were subsequently reviewed and scored, Butler posting an 11.47 point heat total to advance to the third round.

The mix up did not bother the talented young surfer who feels he is now familiarising himself with the Oceanside Beach line-up and stiff international competition.

"I feel like I've started to get in sync with some of the better waves and the best positions to sit on both banks at the moment so everything is good so far," Butler said.

"I don't mind the bad conditions because it reminds me of the Mount. How soft and small it is gives me that upper advantage on others, and helps build my confidence."

Butler and Horne have a massive task ahead of them if they want to advance out of day five tomorrow. Both surfers will be required to surf four heats to advance to the penultimate day of the event.

Also performing well in the Under 16 girls' division were Raiha Ensor and Elin Tawharu also of Mount Maunganui.

Ensor won her second round match up with a few big close-out turns to advance to Round 3.

"The conditions are very tricky here. Today I surfed on the low tide which meant there were quite a lot of close-outs and the surfers that could find the corners would progress."
she said.

"I was surfing in similar conditions two days ago which sort of helped."

Tawharu followed Ensor in to the third round placing second in her heat.

Callum Chuter (Mount) and Jasmine Smith (Gis) are the last two surfers in the Under 18 Division.

Smith started the day out with a win for the team and she advanced to the third round.

She will need another two good performances tomorrow if she is to challenge for her ninth placing she achieved in 2014.

In the Under 16 Boys Division, Jonas Tahwaru (Mnt) finished 65th while Daniel Farr finished 81st.

Britt Kindred also bowed out of the Under 18 Girls Division finishing 33rd.

The team are currently ranked 13th and will need a big push over the next three days to surpass their 2014 ranking of tenth.