PORT Stephens super athlete Eden Hasson is ready to conquer the surfing world.

All eyes will be on the seventeen-year-old Boat Harbour native and Merewether’s Ocean Lancaster when they travel to Central America with the Australian Junior Irukandjis squad for the upcoming 2024 International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championships.

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This year’s event will be hosted by Surf City El Salvador from May 3 to 12 where Hasson and his talented Under 18 and Under 16 Irukandji team mates can test their surfing skills at the iconic waves of La Bocana and El Sunzal.

The Port Stephens and Hunter communities have rallied behind Eden and sixteen-year-old Newcastle sensation Lancaster in helping the duo raise funds for the trip.

Young gun Eden is Australia’s reigning Under 18 national junior champion and one of the hottest prospects to emerge on the international surfing scene.

He is returning to Surf City after helping the Junior Irukandjis capture a silver medal in El Salvador as a sixteen-year-old in 2022.

In preparation for the world titles both Hasson and Lancaster have been attending an intensive training camp with their highly acclaimed team mates at the Surfing Australia High Performance Centre at Casuarina on the NSW north coast.

Surfing Australia Talent Pathway coach Peter Duncan told News Of The Area that Hasson was one of twelve outstanding surfers that were “super proud” to represent Australia at a major world tournament.

“Eden is a phenomenal talent and our national Under 18 champion with a bright future in the sport,” exclaimed Duncan, who is travelling to Surf City with the Junior Irukandjis.

“This camp is all about preparing them for the world titles.

“We’re going to throw different challenges at them, make sure they adapt and get the gist of what an ISA campaign is.

“The level of talent is unbelievable and these surfers are setting the benchmark in international standards, which is cool as well.”

Duncan revealed that the wave in El Salvador can be a “nice, punchy kind of wave” which suits the Australian style of surfing.

“We expect to see big combos and big turns and we expect the team to do pretty well again after finishing fourth overall last year,” he said.

Led by Fingal Head’s Dane Henry and Newport’s Milla Brown, the Irukandjis are determined to get back into the top tier and take home gold.

The best junior surfers from every part of the globe will contend for medals at the prestigious international event.

This championship has proved to be a direct pathway to the Olympic Games with Olympic bronze medallist Owen Wright, eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore, two-time world champion Tyler Wright and Sally Fitzgibbons among the past ISA World Junior Champions.

Other former champions include Brazilian greats Filipe Toledo, Gabriel Medina and Tatiana Weston-Webb and Italy’s Leonardo Fioravanti.

The Australian Junior Irukandjis squads are:

Under 18 Girls:Milla Brown (Newport, NSW); Willow Hardy (Gnarabup, WA); Isi Campbell (Denmark, WA).

Under 18 Boys: Eden Hasson (Port Stephens, NSW); Dane Henry (Fingal Head, NSW); Fletcher Kelleher (Freshwater, NSW).

Under 16 Girls: Ziggy Mackenzie (Bilinga, Qld); Charli Hately (Tugun, Qld); Ocea Curtis (Lennox Head, NSW).

Under 16 Boys: Lachlan Arghyros (Kingscliff, NSW); Maverick Wilson (Dunsborough, WA) and Ocean Lancaster (Merewether, NSW).

A fundraiser has been launched to support Eden on his journey to El Salvador.

Visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-eden-hasson-get-to-world-junior-championships.

By Chris KARAS