Mount Maunganui surfer Raiha Ensor and fellow Kiwi Ella Williams have successfully kicked off the Kiwi campaign at the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games in France, both advancing through to the second round of the Open Women's Division overnight.

Located in the southwest of France, Biarritz offered up a raw 1.5m – 2.0m Atlantic swell to kick things off with onshore winds before the conditions improved for the second half of the day.

Williams (WGM) was lucky to have her heat scheduled during the afternoon by which time conditions had improved giving her ample opportunity to perform. Williams obliged posting a 14.03 point heat total to win her heat and advance alongside Marion Philippe (TAH).

Williams was one of the stand out performers on the first day of the event surfing to the third highest heat score of the day.

First thing in the morning, Ensor surfed the second heat of the day, acting as a guinea pig for many of the other competitors who had their eagle eyes on how best to tackle the powerful beach break. Ensor finished second in her heat to advance behind Karelle Poppke (TAH) in a low scoring affair.

Both surfers will be back in action on the second day of the event when officials expect to run the event through to the final eight surfers in the semi-finals.

The first day of competition was put on hold during the middle of the day while all teams attended the Parade of Nations and Sands of the World Ceremony in front of a large local crowd. Ella Williams and JC Susan were nominated to mix the New Zealand sand with other nations followed by a full team haka.

The Men's Division will commence on May 23. The New Zealand males include JC Susan (Dun), Paul Moretti (Mur), Taylor Hutchison (Rag) and Zen Wallis (Piha).

The World Surfing Games are being held at Biarritz in the south of France from the May 20-28. A record 47 nations are participating at the event as the sport prepares for Tokyo 2020 and the Olympics for the first time.

New Zealand's ranking of eighth in 2016 secures a berth in the Aloha Cup Tag Team event which includes the top eight nations at the event. New Zealand placed fourth in the 2016 Aloha Cup.

Day One Results

Open Women's Round 1

Heat 2

Karelle Poppke, TAH, 7.07, 1, Raiha Ensor, NZL, 6.00, 2, Leila Takeda, MEX, 3.50, 3, Chantelle Coote, CIS, 2.44, 4

Heat 11

Ella Williams, NZL, 14.03, 1, Marion Philippe, TAH, 10.87, 2, Regina Pioli, MEX, 6.63, 3, Laurie McGregor, CIS, 6.23, 4

Open Women's Round 2 (Yet to be surfed)

Heat 1

Marcela Machado, URU, Raiha Ensor, NZL, Guro Aanestad, NOR, Regina Pioli, MEX

Heat 11

Ella Williams, NZL, Anat Lelior, ISR, Valentina Resano, NCA, Delfina Morosini, URU

About the International Surfing Association (ISA)

The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding, SUP and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964, and the Junior World Championships since 1980.