2019 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Champs: Bay surfers in NZ Junior team

The New Zealand Junior Surfing team. Photo / Salina

Ōhōpe's Jack Lee is set to represent New Zealand for the first time at the World Junior Surfing Championships.

Jack is one of three young Bay of Plenty surfers among the seven new faces representing New Zealand at the 2019 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship at Huntington Beach in California this week.

The team is made up of New Zealand's top 12 junior surfers, three of whom include Mount Maunganui's Georgia Wederell and Luke Griffin and Jack in the Under-18s.

The championship is the largest junior surfing event in the world with more than 340 surfers from 44 nations competing in 2019.

Catering to athletes in the under-16 and under-18 boys' and girls' divisions, the international competition got underway 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:

Under 18 Boys Division:
Caleb Cutmore (Raglan), Jack Lee (Ōhope), Luke Griffin (Mount Maunganui).

Under 18 Girls Division:
Estella Hungerford (Christchurch), Georgia Wederell (Mount Maunganui), Saffi Vette (Gisborne).

Under 16 Boys Division:
Jayden Willoughby (Raglan), Tom Butland (Taranaki), Tom Robinson (Whangarei).

Under 16 Girls Division:
Ava Henderson (Christchurch), Brie Bennett (Raglan), Natasha Gouldsbury (Taranaki).

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