Junior teams took to the water yesterday to battle in the board rescue, relay and surf teams events before the competition turned to the sand for the flags.

Heats of the junior individual events, including the ironman and ironwoman, will be run today before the finals tomorrow.

Surf Life Saving NSW spokeswoman Donna Wishart said the moderate surf conditions provided enough of a challenge for junior competitors to show their skills in the water without being dangerous.

"There was a shore dump earlier in the day and we had to move events down the beach a bit," she said.

In all, 4000 juniors will compete in the event before the masters and open competition competitors descend on Blacksmiths on Thursday for a four-day event.