Spirit of whanaungatanga in Piha world surf champs

They may have only come seventh, but the New Zealand team is taking valuable experience and contacts away from the World Junior Surfing Championships which finished this week at Piha.

14-year-old Sarah Mason from Ngati Awa, who now lives in northern New South Wales, was the highest placed Maori competitor ... finishing eighth in the Under 18 Girls Division.

Surfer and broadcaster Te Kauhoe Wano says hosting the event offered Maori surfers a lot of opportunities, either as competitors or volunteers.

He says a real feeling of whanaungatanga emerged between the Maori, Tahitian and Hawaiian surfers.