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Today saw the opening ceremony of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. Surfers from 21 countries including Great Britain marched behind their flags through the city's Mission Bay in a display of surfing unity. The day kicked off with the Sands of the World ceremony for which the team captains for each country poured sand from their local beaches into the ISA clear box, symbolizing the peaceful gathering of nations through the love of surfing. Unfortunately the thick mud that the British team captain from Weston Super Mare brought with him seeped through the layers turning the Sands of the World poo brown. (I'm just kidding of course.) ISA President Fernando Aguerre officially declared the championships open. "Welcome everybody" said Aguerre. "I know this is the most emotional opening ceremony I have ever attended. I have been doing this for many years. Kia Ora is a very important word that we should all learn. It means Thank You in Maori, it also means welcome, it means from the heart. So Kia Ora New Zealand. Kia Ora Auckland!" So there you go... and we thought Kia Ora just meant 'sickly sweet orange drink from the eighties.' I'll be your dog. The eight day competition gets underway tomorrow and continues until Thursday 28th January. The surf is forecast to build over the next few days with waves in the overhead range. Contest organisers are confident of completing the opening round of the Under 18 and 16 Boys tomorrow. With the coaching of talented surfers Mike Young and Micah Lester, we have high hopes for the British Junior Team at the Worlds this year. The team consists of Jobe Harris, Harry Timson, Gabi Rowe, Tassy Swallow, Lucy Campbell, Nathan Elms, Laura Crane, Alex Baker, Beau Bromham, Miles Lee Hargreaves, Matt Chapman and Luke Dillon. Auckland is about 13 hours ahead of us I think, so you can watch the contest get underway live tomorrow... errr, later today, if that makes sense. Check it out and cheer on the team at www.isaworldjuniors.com
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