Mount Maunganui surfers Jordan Griffin and Mackenzie Christie are heading to Panama to compete at the 2012 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships.

The two surfers were named today in the Rip Curl New Zealand Junior Surfing Team heading to the event in April.

Ella Williams is heading to Panama for the 2012 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships. Photo: Cody/NZ Surfing Magazine.

The team includes surfers from Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Christchurch.
The team will now begin preparations for the event with a nine week lead in where competitors will run through their individual training programmes.

They will also meet as a team at the end of March for a combined training camp.

The 12 surfers also have several major national events to attend over the next two months as they hone their skills for international competition.
Gisborne surfer Jayda Martin-Fitzharris is one of two senior team members who have competed at the event for the past three years.
'Ben Poulter and I have been in the team for years now,” says Jayda.

'I got a phone call from Dad yesterday about being selected and to be honest I was just as excited as the first time I made the team.”
The experience of senior team members such as Jayda and Ben will help those that are new to the team and heading to the tropical climes of Central America for the first time.

The international competitive environment is vastly different to New Zealand and that coupled with being in a different country can make things tough on a young team.

Fellow female team member Ella Williams will be part of the team for the second year running and feels that her experience gained from touring to Peru in 2011 will count for a lot.

'The first year is always getting a feel for competing internationally,” says Ella.

'I am a bit more prepared this time around, I know what to expect, actually, I am much more prepared.”

Surfing in the under-16 boys' division, but having already contested the event for the past two years, is Piha surfer Elliot Paerata-Reid who found out about his selection via Facebook.

The confident young surfer is going over to do nothing but win the event, a sentiment that was also echoed by Ella when asked about her goals for the event.

Elliot was the highest placed Kiwi surfer in the under-16 boys' division in 2011, placing 31^st, however, this year he sees his chances in a much different way.

'I'm going over there to win to be honest, hopefully I can achieve that goal.

'My preparation so far is way better after carrying out fitness training in the gym and running. My surfing is a lot be than last year too,” says Elliot.

Also in the under-16 boys' division, and one of five new faces in the team, is Mount Maunganui surfer Jordan Griffin.

He was not part of the wider training squad in the past two months, but he kept showing good form on the water to push selectors into naming him.

Over the past two weeks he put everything into place with his competitive performances placing in two finals of national events.

The performances were enough to catch the eye of the selectors who gave him the nod.

Jordan was busy training with his school and unavailable for comment, but his Dad Phil, an ex-New Zealand representative himself, said that the selection came after he was given an ultimatum by the selectors and given the two recent events as a platform to prove his value to the team.
Other new team members include Mackenzie Christie, Alethea Lock, Korbin Hutchings and the youngest team member, 14-year-old Jasmine Smith.

New Zealand Junior Surfing Squad

Under-18 Boys
Ben Poulter (Raglan)
Mackenzie Christie (Mount Maunganui)
Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata)
Tane Wallis (Piha)
Non travelling reserve – Jules Craft (Gisborne)

Under-18 Girls
Alethea Lock (Christchurch)
Ella Williams (Whangamata)
Jasmine Smith (Gisborne)
Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gisborne)
Non travelling reserve – Dayna Story (Gisborne)

Under-16 Boys
Dune Kennings (Whangamata)
Elliot Paerata - Reid (Piha)
Jordan Griffin (Mount Maunganui)
Korbin Hutchings (Gisborne)
Non travelling reserve – Harrison Whiteside (Christchurch)

Team Manager: Tony Baker (Mangawhai)
Team Coach: Jason Ruddell (Whangarei)
Team Assistant Manager/Coach: Warren Asplin (Hamilton)

Key Dates
March 30 – April 1: Team Training Camp, Raglan
April 14-22: ISA World Surfing Championship, Playa Venao, Panama