A pair of Illawarra youngsters will have the chance to take on the world's best after being selected in the Australian team for the upcoming World Junior Surfing Championships.
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Keira Buckpitt and Lennix Smith will fly the flag for the region, Buckpitt to contest the under 18 girls and Smith the under 18 boys event.
The duo are members of a 12-person squad that will travel to El Salvador for the competition in May and June.
The event marks an opportunity for the youngsters to experience international competition as they progress towards the senior tour.
"ISA Junior event brings a high calibre of competition; it is a big achievement to be selected for this team and an amazing opportunity for Australia's best junior athletes to get a taste of what their future could be at an Olympic Games," Surfing Australia Talent Pathway Coach and 2005 Women's World Champion Chelsea Hedges said.
Smith hails from Barrack Point and took out the NSW Championships, which were held in Wollongong in November.
Buckpitt is an emerging Culburra talent looking to follow in the footsteps of two-time World Champion Tyler Wright.
The Culburra product is a past winner of the event, taking home gold at the 2010 World Junior Surfing Championships.
Buckpitt was a member of the Surfing NSW Junior High-Performance team that travelled to Victoria last week for a training camp that included time at the Urbnsurf man-made wave pool.