The Australian team kept hold of all but one of their surfers entered into the competition to move ahead of France and Hawaii, who are now second and third respectively.

The United States remain in the hunt thanks largely to the efforts of Eithan Osborne, whose heat total of 14.500 was the best recorded in the round.

"The competition is getting more exciting every day as we move closer to crowning the first junior world champions in the era of Olympic surfing," International Surfing Association President Fernando Aguerre said. 

"Tomorrow the ISA Aloha Cup semi-final will run, putting the spotlight on the strong team camaraderie that these teams possess.

“As the field of competitors narrows, so does our focus on the aspiring Olympians who are putting on the best performances in the event.”

Lens Arancibia of France enjoyed a promising start to day six of competition as he scored the highest heat total in round three of the boys under-18 event with 13.60, but he then crashed out with a third-place finish in round four.

Great Britain’s Will Baily suffered the same fate, winning his round three heat by recording 11.83 points before his pursuit of a junior world title came to an end in the next.

Weslley Dantas of Brazil, who broke his board earlier on today, finished strongly in the under-18 event, scoring 14.67 to give his chances of claiming the gold medal a boost.

In the under-16 boys category, Hawaii proved to be the dominant nation as Logan Bediamol's 13.16 and a score of 13.00 for Wyatt McHale earned them the two-best scores of the round.

Action on the São Miguel Island continues tomorrow.