North Stradbroke Island’s Ethan Ewing has surfed to the top spot in junior surfing in Australasia.
Ewing was crowned World Surf League Australasian Junior Qualifying Series champion after an event at Wollongong on the weekend.
The title win gives him an entry into the world championships early in 2017.
World Surf League’s Australasia tour and communications manager Will Hayden-Smith recently told the Bulletin that the Point Lookout local is “the next big thing in Australian surfing”.
Ewing has won four consecutive junior events in a row this year.
He was so far ahead in points that he was due to win the Australasian title before the event was held on the weekend.
Although he was knocked from the weekend’s event in the third round, Ewing remained in high spirits about his performance since the start of the year.
The former Cleveland District State High School student said he was “stoked” with the win.
Ewing was the winner of one pro junior event in 2015.
He has progressed from being ranked 257th in the men’s qualifying series in the world last year to a ranking of 32nd for 2016.
This week he travelled to the Caribbean at the start of a surf tour to compete in qualifying series events around the world.