The World’s National Masters Surfing Teams Set to Compete at the 2007 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship

Puerto Rico to Host International Surfing Event in Rincon, January 20-28, 2007

San Diego, Calif., December 6, 2006 – The 2007 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship will feature some of the best master’s surfers from around the globe competing for their respective countries January 20-28, 2007 in Rincon, Puerto Rico. The event will be hosted by the Puerto Rico Surfing Federation, the national governing body for the sport of surfing in the Puerto Rico.The Championship will feature surfers from over 15 countries including Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, Italy, Jamaica, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Sweden, Tahiti and Venezuela.

“This is a great opportunity for Master surfers to represent their countries, wear the national uniforms, while enjoying the camaraderie and Olympic spirit of ISA events. We are happy to have the event in Puerto Rico, a surfing paradise in the Caribbean. The ISA Masters event perfectly complements the ISA World Surfing Games and the ISA Quiksilver Junior Surfing Championships. Now surfers of any age can enjoy the honor of representing their national colors,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre.

Puerto Rico last hosted an ISA event in 1988 where they ran a successful World Surfing Games. With the government fully behind this event it is sure to be a success too. The Masters will bring together surfers who have previously surfed in ISA events and newcomers as teams from around the world compete over the course of 10 days for the honor of representing their respective countries. Each national team consists of 6 competitors among three divisions: two open 35 years +, two open 40+ and two 45 years +. The top four finalists in each division are awarded gold, silver, bronze and copper medals, as well as the top four national teams.

The 2007 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship will be available to view online with live scoring and streaming video. Details will be available at www.isasurf.org as the event nears.

About International Surfing Association (ISA) The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected five times since. The ISA’s four Vice Presidents are from South Africa, Australia, Hawaii and the USA.