Nearly 900 junior athletes will descend on Mount Maunganui Main Beach over the next four days for the Under 14 New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships.

Also known as Oceans'16, the event has a proud history of being not only the largest junior surf lifesaving event in the country but the most competitive and exciting.

The carnival is the high point of the season for the 896 junior athletes who will come from 45 clubs around New Zealand from as far North as Waipu Cove to as far South as Dunedin.

The largest group of athletes comes from Red Beach with a total of 76 athletes followed by Papamoa with 52 and Mount Maunganui and Omanu both entering 51 athletes.

At the lower end, Whiritoa and Omaha will be represented by a single athlete while St Kilda, South Brighton, North Beach, Brighton, Waipu Cove, Pukehina, Otaki, Waimairi and Foxton will have a handful or less flying their club's flag at the annual event.

Omanu will be looking to retain the title after winning the champs last year with 59 points, just ahead of neighbouring club Papamoa on 54 and Orewa in third with 45.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand sport manager Mike Lord says everyone loves the Oceans carnivals as the atmosphere is always so fun and positive.

"The scene is set and the weather is looking promising for a great four days of racing. Oceans gives our youngest members the chance to compete and have fun with their friends and fellow athletes- but the competitive nature always comes out and we're sure to see some standout performances over the next few days," he says.

Keep up-to-date via the Facebook event page here.

Those heading along can help share some great moments from the event at Mt Maunganui by posting action photos and videos via social media. Register here and upload them directly or post them to Facebook (make sure your post is set to 'public') Twitter and Instagram with ‪#‎Oceans16‬ to see them appear automatically on our story board.‬‬

Clubs represented:

Red Beach SLSC -76
Papamoa SLSC- 52
Mt Maunganui Lifeguard Service- 51
Omanu SLSC- 51
Mairangi Bay SLSC- 49
Maranui SLSC-44
Orewa SLSC- 44
Muriwai Volunteer Lifeguard Service Inc- 35
Fitzroy SLSC- 30
Waihi Beach Lifeguard Services Inc- 30
Waikanae SLSC- 29
Lyall Bay SLSC- 27
Piha SLSC- 25
Westshore SLSC- 25
Whangamata SLSC- 24
Wainui SLSC-23
New Plymouth Old Boys SLSC- 22
East End SLSC- 21
Titahi Bay SLSC- 20
St. Clair SLSC-19
Bethells Beach SLSP- 18
Midway SLSC- 18
Whakatane SLSC- 17
Worser Bay LSC- 16
Waimarama SLSC- 15
Paekakariki Surf Lifeguards- 13
Taylors Mistake SLSC- 12
Pacific SLSC- 11
Waikuku Beach SLSC -10
Ocean Beach Kiwi SLSC- 9
Spencer Park SLSC- 9
Sumner SLSC -8
Mangawhai Heads VLS- 7
Hot Water Beach LS- 6
Foxton SLSC- 5
Waimairi SLSC- 5
Otaki SLSC- 4
Pukehina Surf Rescue- 3
Waipu Cove SLSC- 3
Brighton SLSC- 2
North Beach SLSC- 2
South Brighton SLSC -2
St Kilda SLSC-2
Omaha Beach SLSC- 1
Whiritoa Lifeguard Service- 1

For more information, please contact:

Lisa Smith, Media & Communications Specialist, SLSNZ
Phone 09 303 9335 or 0276 488 823
Email lisa.smith@surflifesaving.org.nz