The New Zealand Surfing Team have advanced their cause at the 2016 INS ISA World Surfing Games moving in to sixth position after another successful day in the waves of Costa Rica.

Only two Kiwi surfers were in action on day six with Billy Stairmand progressing through two rounds and Mount Maunganui's Matt Hewitt unfortunately being eliminated.

Mount Maunganui surfer Matt Hewitt. File.

The team capped off the day progressing to the final of the Aloha Cup while 2015 bronze medallist Ella Williams enjoyed another lay day in the Women's Division.

Stairmand stamped his mark on the event with his best performance of the week in Repechage Round 6. Stairmand finished with a 17.57 point heat total to beat hometown favourite Carlos Munoz. The two surfers advanced to the final twelve athletes in the event.

'Yeah my last heat felt so good, I was so stoked to get two good waves in the first five minutes” exclaimed Stairmand.

'After that I was so comfortable and just wanted to surf. It was a dream start to a heat. My board is feeling good and each day I'm feeling even better. My energy levels are good at the moment but there is still plenty of surfing to do” added Stairmand.

'I'm just really enjoying my experience here with the team in Costa Rica. Thanks for all the support back home. Now let's bring home gold.”

Earlier in the day, Stairmand posted a 13.90 point heat total to advance alongside Hiroto Arai of the strong Japanese Team, the two surfers defeating Brett Simpson (USA) and Medi Veminardi (FRA).

The New Zealand team progressed to the final of the Aloha Cup in emphatic style finishing less than two points behind winners Costa Rica together eliminating Peru and Australia.

Zen Wallis (Piha) anchored the team finishing with final ride of 6.70 points to push ahead of Peru.

The New Zealand Team exchanged the lead with Costa Rica for the first half of the semi-final before the pressure of time got to our surfers.

Peru on the other hand came from nowhere to pass New Zealand on their final wave. However, it was Wallis that caught the winning wave with less than a minute to spare before running up the beach to the team box and across the finish line with 15 seconds remaining.

'Our team strategy was to make sure we got our three waves in the time we had but also to make sure we got waves with at least a couple of turns on them. With the lower tide though there were quite a few closeouts that made it all a little harder” says Taylor Hutchison.

'When Zen's feet hit the sand I think he only had 30 seconds to go and he was super far down the beach after his last wave so we were all just screaming at him to run faster” added Hutchison.

The team will contest the Aloha Cup final this morning against Costa Rica, Argentina and USA.

Matt Hewitt ended his run in the fifth round of the event yesterday finishing 19^th overall.

Hewitt endured an agonisingly slow heat with the first wave from any of the four surfers caught with only 12 minutes remaining in the heat.

He got himself in a position to progress but ultimately the ocean conspired against him leaving the 4.87 point ride for progression out at sea.

'Sometimes the ocean just isn't on your side” says Hewitt.

'I felt good throughout the comp, I was quite relaxed and didn't have much pressure on my shoulders and I could feel it in my heats I knew I had to be on the best two waves to put myself in the best position to progress.

'I was just bummed my last heat was so slow and I didn't get the opportunity to let my surfing do the talking” added Hewitt who could not emphasis more, the good vibe of the team and how that had helped him through the week.

'Everyone is gelling and coming together as a team. Every heat made it that much more awesome seeing the flag waving down on the water's edge after every wave and hearing your team mates cheering for you just makes you want to dig in harder and do it for the team.”

Stairmand and Williams will be in action on the penultimate day of the event, Williams having the luxury of still being in the main event and having to ‘lives' left. The team will cap off the day with the final of the Aloha Cup.

The World Surfing Games are being held from August 6 to 14. Individual, Team and Tag Team medals will be awarded on the final day of the event tomorrow.

More than 140 athletes from 26 countries are attending the event, the first held by the ISA since surfing was added to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics last week.

See below for results from day six of the INS ISA World Surfing Games being held at Jaco Beach, Costa Rica.

Team Standings

1. Peru, 4410
2. Portugal, 4313
3. Costa Rica, 3940
4. Japan, 3353
5. France, 3308
6. New Zealand, 3179
7. USA, 2860
8. Venezuela, 2760
9. Argentina, 2752
10. Ecuador, 2218

Men's Repechage Round 5

Heat 1

1, Dimitre Ouvre (FRA), 14.83, 2, Dylan Southworth (MEX), 10.03, 3, Matt Hewitt (NZL), 9.40, 4, Shane Sykes (RSA), 7.03

Heat 3

1, Billy Stairmand (NZL), 13.90, 2, Hiroto Arai (JPN), 12.64, 3, Brett Simpson (USA), 9.0, 4, Medi Veminardi (FRA), 8.10

Men's Repechage Round 6

Heat 2

1, Billy Stairmand (NZL), 17.57, 2, Carlos Munoz (CRI), 15.06, 3, Santiago Muniz (ARG), 13.94, 4, Dylan Southworth (MEX), 6.33

Aloha Cup Semifinal

1, Costa Rica, 71.14, 2, New Zealand, 69.20, 3, Peru, 65.29, Australia, 50.47

Times for New Zealand heats on day seven of the event (NZT).

1.50am – Men's Repechage Round 7 – Billy Stairmand

3.10am – Women's Main Event Round 4 – Ella Williams

3.30am – Men's Repechage Round 8 (if qualified)

4.10am – Women's Repechage Round 6 (if Williams is relegated to repechage rounds)

4.50am – Men's Repechage Round 9 (if qualified)

5.10am – Women's Repechage Round 7 (if qualified)

5.50am – Aloha Cup Final – Tag Team