The Moko New Zealand Junior Surfing Team are poised and ready to compete on the eve of the 2017 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship being held in Japan starting tomorrow.

The Moko New Zealand Junior Surfing team is:

Under 18 Boys
Elliott Brown (Dun)
Jared Gebert (Ohope)
Jonas Tawharu (Mnt)
Kehu Butler (Mnt)

Under 18 Girls
Elin Tawharu (Mnt)
Raiha Ensor (Mnt)

Under 16 Boys
Caleb Cutmore (Ham)
Dylan Preston (Mnt)
Kaya Horne (Mnt/Queensland)
William Van Der Beek (Mnt)

Under 16 Girls
Saffi Vette (Gis)
Tegen Bishop (Chch)

Team Manager: Damien Galvan (Mnt)
Team Coach: Khan Butler (Mnt)

The Kiwis have spent the past three days familiarising themselves with the waves and culture of Japan.

“The team are in good spirits and they are all surfing well in the tiny conditions we have had so far” commented team coach Khan Butler.

“I think the two training weekends at the Mount were good prep for here. They have been holding their own out amongst the pack which was our aim when surfing the comp bank and now they have heaps of confidence coming into the event” he added.

The team will contest the SANZ Trophy today against South Africa as a warm up to the main event.

Saturday will see the team participate in the Parade of Nations and the Sands of the World Ceremony before the surfing action commences on Sunday and runs through until October 1st.

The swell is forecast to build throughout the first three days of the event before tapering off for the latter half of the week.  The swell forecast will please the New Zealand Team despite their preparations in the small waves.

The twelve Kiwi team members will be led by the Under 18 Boys and Girls.  2016 bronze medallist Elin Tawharu (Mnt) steps up a division and is joined by Raiha Ensor (Mnt), the two girls aiming for podium finishes this year.  Ensor also competed at the ISA World Surfing Games held in France earlier in the year so has had a good build-up of international competition this year.

Kehu Butler (Mnt) has spent much of the first nine months of this year competing overseas and will go into the Boys Division as one of the favourite surfers at the event.  He is joined by Elliot Brown (Dun) and Jonas Tawharu (Mnt), two surfers that attended the Fiji Launch Pad High Performance Camp during July this year.  Second time team member Jared Gebert (Ohope) rounds out the four boys as a late replacement for Daniel Farr (Tara) who is continuing his World Qualifying Series campaign with a QS3000 event in the Philippines.

Gold Coast based Kaya Horne is the most experienced of the surfers in the Under 16 Boys Division having contested the event on two previous occasions.  Horne is joined by three first-time team members in William Van Der Beek (Mnt), Caleb Cutmore (Ham) and Dylan Preston (Mnt).  The girls are represented by Saffi Vette (Gis) and Tegen Bishop (Cant), the two surfers being first time team members.

The 2017 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship is being streamed live via ISAWorlds.com.  Japan is three hours behind New Zealand and action is expected to get underway at 8:00am daily (11:am NZT).

The New Zealand Team finished 10th at the 2016 VISSLA ISA World Championship which was won by France with Australia in second, Hawaii in third and this years’ hosts Japan in fourth.  The Kiwi team will aim to break into the top eight to qualify for the Aloha Cup at future events.

Thirty young Ultimate Frisbee players will cross the Tasman next weekend to represent New Zealand against Australia. This event will be the third Under 18 trans-Tasman Ultimate competition, now a regular fixture in the youth high performance calendar of both countries and traditionally held in the off-year of the biannual World Junior Ultimate Championships.

The tournament will take place at the Balmain Road Sporting Grounds in Sydney on 30 September and 1 October 2017 with three games each for the Under 18 Men’s and Under 18 Women’s teams. This year will see the event livestreamed for the first time, allowing fans in both Australia and New Zealand to follow the action live through the Ultimate Australia YouTube channel.
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New Zealand are the holders of the trans-Tasman Trophy in the U18 Women’s division after an exciting 2-1 series win in Auckland in 2015. Kahu (NZ Junior Women’s team) will be aiming to be the first team to win the trophy away from home with the host country winning all previous encounters. They head into the competition with a strong team of 14 players including 7 who were part of the team that finished 6th at last year’s World Junior Ultimate Championships. 

The New Zealand Junior Men’s (Katipo) will be looking to avenge their 1-2 series loss in 2015 and bring the trans-Tasman trophy home for the first time since the inaugural competition in 2011. Despite only 4 returners from WJUC, the team has a lot of skill and athleticism and is looking forward to the challenge Australia will present.

The trans-Tasman Trophy is a key stepping stone for both teams as they look to prepare for the 2018 World Junior Ultimate Championships to be held in Waterloo, Canada next August.

Tournament Schedule (times are listed in Sydney local time and NZ Time – note the change in time difference due to Australian Daylight Savings on Sunday morning).

Saturday 30 September
9.00am: NZ U18 Men v Australia – Game 1 (12.00pm New Zealand Time)
10.30am: NZ U18 Women v Australia – Game 1  (1.30pm New Zealand Time)
1.30pm: NZ U18 Men v Australia – Game 2 (4.30pm New Zealand Time)
3.00pm: NZ U18 Women v Australia – Game 2 (6.00pm New Zealand Time)
 
Sunday 1 October
9.00am: NZ U18 Women v Australia – Game 3 (11.00am New Zealand Time)
12.00pm: NZ U18 Men v Australia – Game 3 (2.00pm New Zealand Time)
 
More information:
Tournament Facebook Event
New Zealand Ultimate website
Livestream Coverage via Ultimate Australia YouTube Channel
 
The New Zealand teams are:
 
KAHU – NEW ZEALAND JUNIOR WOMEN’S ULTIMATE TEAM
                                                                                                               
Abi Liddell (Wellington High School)
Anna Crosby (Auckland University)
Beth Thompson (Hutt Valley High School)            
Bianca Mercer (Epsom Girls High School)
Bridget Forsyth (Hutt Valley High School)
Emma Doile (Hutt Valley High School)
Farren Halliday (St Catherine’s College)
Helena Cvitanovich (Hutt Valley High School)
Hillary Sheridan (Hutt Valley High School)
Lucy Parsons (Epsom Girls Grammar School)      
Maia Mance (Canterbury University)                     
Nicole Svensden (Takapuna Grammar School)                   
Sunny Zhou (Epsom Girls Grammar School)                        
Zoe Risner (Victoria University)
 
Head Coach – Iain Stewart
Assistant Coach – Sally Neal
Manager – Riah Mildenhall

KATIPO – NEW ZEALAND JUNIOR MEN’S ULTIMATE TEAM

Andrew Fitzpatrick-Cockram  (Auckland Grammar School)
Campbell Nauman (St Bede’s College)
Graydon Scott (New Plymouth Boys' High School)
Hamish Forde (Westlake Boys' High School)
Jack Doherty-Eagles (Auckland Grammar School) Replaced by Daniel Linklater 
Jack Doile (Hutt Valley High School)                          
Josh Driscoll (Auckland Grammar School)
Luca Mercer (Auckland Grammar School)                              
Luke Rabe (New Plymouth Boys High School)
Max Benter-Lynch (Cashmere High School)                          
Nicholas Whitlock (Auckland Grammar School)
Rory Coxill-Bogacki (Wellington High School)
Rowan Burns (Auckland Grammar School)
Russell Syder (Hutt Valley High School)
Sean McKeown (Auckland Grammar School)
Tane Rolfe (Hutt Valley High School)

Head Coach – Warren Buckingham
Manager – Mike Sheridan

A number of NZSS Championships are being held this week. National champions have already been found in table tennis and golf, while several others will be decided over the next few days.

A number of regional tournaments in other sports such as basketball and netball are also being contested this week.

A quick-fire summary of NZSS tournaments below as of late Wednesday afternoon.

Semi-finalists found in football

The semi-final line up has been found at the Lotto Premier Boys First XI Football Nationals in Napier. Nelson College will clash with Hamilton Boys' High School and St Thomas' of Canterbury College will challenge defending champions Sacred Heart College. Both games kick-off at 1:15pm.

The girls Premier tournament semi-final matches in Taupo are Baradene College versus Mt Albert  Grammar School and Saint Kentigern College v. Rangiora High School.  These contests also kick-off at.1.15pm.
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There are also several other NZSS football tournaments being played.  For more visit the NZSS Football Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NZSSFootball/

Top 16 teams found in NZSS hockey tournaments 

The final pool matches of the respective Premier boys and girls tournaments in Hamilton and Napier were today.
 
The quarterfinal Rankin Cup (boys) and Federation Cup (girls) match-ups start on Thursday. Finals are on Saturday.

For more visit: https://www.facebook.com/HockeyNZ/
 
Burnside High School reign supreme at NZSS Table Tennis

The ping pong has been fast and furious at the NZSS Table Tennis Championships in Palmerston North early this week.

On Tuesday, Burnside High School emerged as the overall champions – winning both boys and girls teams events.

Auckland Grammar School (boys) and MacLeans College (girls) were runners up. Westlake Boys’ High School were third in the boys and James Hargest College third in the girls.
 
The Individual tournament was played on Wednesday (winners TBA).
 
Christchurch Boys’ High School NZSS Golf champions
 
Christchurch Boys High School (CBHS) have won the NZSS Golf Championship for the first time on Monday, with a clinical final round at the Hawke’s Bay Golf Club.

The southerners consisting of Tom Parker, Ben Baker, Dominic Brettkelly and Jack Ryder won by a dominant eight strokes over defending champions Burnside High School after Parker and Baker recorded impressive afternoon rounds of 66 and 67 respectively (par 73).

CBHS led by one shot after the first round before the pair of Parker and Baker went bogey free in the second round to widen the gap on the field and lead CBHS to their maiden win. Burnside High School finished second and Saint Kentigern College third.

Badminton in full flight
 
The 40th annual NZSS Badminton Championships reach their conclusion tomorrow.
 
Follow the tournament in Napier on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/badminton.newzealand/
 
NZSS Rugby League tournament
 
The NZSS Rugby League tournament is being played at Bruce Pulman Park in Auckland.
 
Day three on Wednesday saw last year’s premiership finalists, Kelston Boys’ High School almost pipped by Rotorua Boys’ High School – the former holding on to win 18-16.
 
Premiership Pool A winners, Kelston Boys’ High School, will face Pool C winners, St Thomas of Canterbury in their semi-final at 10.15am on Thursday Defending champions Southern Cross Campus face St Paul’s College in the other premiership grade semi-final at 11.30am.
 
For more follow https://www.facebook.com/NZLeague/

 
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Regional

• Basketball Regional Senior AA Championships, 5-8 September, Harbour (Zone 1), Tauranga (Zone 2), Palmerston North (Zone 3), Dunedin (Zone 4)
• Curling SISS Championships 1-4 September Dunedin Ice Stadium, Dunedin
• Cycling Schools Southern Tour 2-3 September, top of the South Island, Northern Tour 9-10 September, Auckland
• Ice Hockey, SISS Championships, 4-7 September, Dunedin
• Netball, Regional Championships, 3- 7 September, Auckland (UNISS), New Plymouth (LNISSS), Christchurch (SISS)
• Shooting NZSS Championships (Triple S Champs) Sunday 3 September (Round 4) Home Range, Nationwide.

*Just the selected Premier tournaments for these sports are covered above with many other lower division and junior football, hockey, basketball and rugby tournaments too.
 
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