Rising Sports Stars with Kelly Exelby of Eves Realty

Sleep comes easy for talented teenage surf star Maia Bryant, even with the hot, balmy summer nights.

Mind you, you get that when you're up before anyone else, gunning it to the summit of Mauao at dawn before chucking a surf-ski into the ocean in an effort to master the waves.

The 14-year-old was grabbing an hour's nap in between training sessions earlier on this week, backing up her lung-busting burst up the mountain with back-to-back water-based trainings at Papamoa with coach Kurt Wilson.

Still eligible for the national 14s titles at Mount Maunganui, where she plans to defend several sprint and water golds, Maia is making the step up into the under-16 division this season and has even been seconded into Papamoa's under-19 taplin relay team for their recent winning effort at the Red Beach carnival.

No slug in the surf, the Mount Maunganui College Year 10 student is lightening on land as well, cleaning up at her school's cross country and athletics championships last year.

She did the double at last weekend's two open water swims, finishing top under-16 female swimmer at the 1.5km Bridge-to-Bridge event on Saturday and second in the following day's 4km jaunt from Pilot Bay to Mount Main Beach.

'It was my second go at the Mount swim and I wouldn't say I was a lot more comfortable this year – it was still quite freaky swimming so close to all the rocks. Probably my biggest fear was meeting a jellyfish or stingray on the way around but thankfully I didn't see any.”

A champion already at the national 14s event held annually at Mount Maunganui, Maia will step up to the under-16s at the open nationals, also at the Mount, in March now she has hit 14 and qualified as a lifeguard.

Skilled as a swimmer and on the rescue board, she's still trying to get to grips with the nuances of keeping a hulking great surf-ski under control – and that's when the water is flat.

'My board paddling's improved so much but the ski needs a lot of work. I'm doing little trainings on it now, just getting used to it, and I still won't go out on it when there's any waves just because I'm not that confident yet.

'But if I'm going to be any good at the diamond lady (the female version of ironman) then I'll have to get used to handling the ski soon.”

With older brothers Mason and Michael both involved in surf and parents that are hugely supportive too, Maia's second home each summer tends to be the surf club.

'We only live two kilometres down the road but I might as well live at the Papamoa club permanently because I spend nearly all my time there.”