The feeling of winning a surfing world championship might be priceless, but getting there is costly.

A group of youth surfers from Hawai'i will go a long way — financially and logistically — to defend their world championship.

Hawai'i will be one of 28 teams participating in the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships. The contest will run May 6 to 14 at Maresias Beach, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

"Putting together a production of this size to go as far as Brazil is quite a task," Hawai'i coach Rainos Hayes said. "But we're the defending champs, and we'll do what it takes to go there and defend the title."

Hawai'i won the team title at last year's world junior championships at Huntington Beach, Calif.

The event, which is held at a different site every year, is considered the world championship for surfers age 18 and younger.

Because of Hawai'i's storied history in the sport of surfing, it is recognized as its own nation. The United States will send a separate team to the contest.

"There's definitely more pressure on us this time," Hayes said. "One of the factors is that we are the defending champs. A second factor is that Brazil is so far away and we'll be competing in conditions that we're not used to seeing."

Brazil placed second to Hawai'i at last year's contest. "I would peg Brazil as the team to beat this year," Hayes said. "They are the home team and it's a country that is very supportive of their sports."

Australia, the United States, South Africa and New Zealand are the other top contenders.

Each team will feature 12 surfers — four each in three separate age divisions.

The Hawai'i surfers on this year's team are: