Kelly, a year 7 student at Newcastle High School, won the under-14 Surfest Sanbah Cadet Cup at South Bar Beach last week and found out on Friday that he had gained a wildcard into the main event, the Burton Automotive Pro.

The Newcastle East talent faced Jimi Wallace, Lee Brusic and Japan's Aoi Oguri in the round of 128 on Monday as the 5000-point finale to the Australia/Oceania regional qualifying series started in one-to-four foot waves.

Kelly stayed busy in the tricky conditions, surfing 11 waves but his opening scores of 3.33 and 5.5 were his best. He started with a single backhand snap then found a better wave to peel off two more.

His two-wave total of 8.83 proved enough to make the next round, placing him second to Wallace (9.83) and ahead of Brusic (8.23) and Oguri (6.5).

The East End Boardriders junior faces Axel Curotta, Macklin Flynn and Cobi Johnson in the round of 96.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm the youngest competitor. I'm just stoked," Kelly said.

"The waves are pretty fun today. It's all right. Hopefully we'll get some better waves tomorrow.

"My goal was just to just try and get through and I was just stoked with that five-five."

His father, Aaron, said the goal was "just to go out and get three or four-point rides really, for a 12-year-old, and then he came up with that".

"He achieved his goal. Now he can just go out and have some fun," he said.

"That's the best part about it. He's got nothing to lose, nothing to gain. Get the free food, the competitor's pass, that's the best part for a 12-year-old, to rub shoulders with the best."

Kelly's success was part of a huge day for local surfers.

Anna Bay's Eden Hasson, the national under-18 champion, dominated his heat against the Philippines' Noah Arkfeld and Samoan Kelly Parker.

Hasson surfed 11 waves and led with a pair of 6.0 midway through the contest before earning a 7.83 to win 13.83 over Arkfeld (11.0) and Parker (10.23).

"Finally ... I've been getting knocked out a bit," a relieved Hasson said. "I've had three in a row where I've been knocked early.

"I've probably been sitting there not staying too busy, so I tried to change it up because that's my strength, when I stay busy and get a bit of momentum.

"Two waves held up nicely for a couple of turns, but I was trying to catch plenty and hoping to get something out of them."

Caves Beach's Jordy Liackman also won his heat, while Connor Lee, Walter Hiatt, Felix Byrnes and Josh Stretton progressed with seconds.

Meanwhile, Merewether's Ryan Callinan bowed out overnight in the elimination round of the Portugal Pro, finishing last in his heat against Brazilians Gabriel Medina and Deivid Silva.