World Surfing Games are around the corner

The ISA World Surfing Games, one of the most important surf competitions, are less than one month away. The host Portuguese beaches are already feeling the great spectacle that is soon to be: the ISA World Surfing Games that will happen from October 11-19 in the beautiful waves of Costa de Caparica.

Approximately 300 surfers from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Tahiti, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay and the host nation, Portugal, will dispute medals in the following categories:

-Open Men –four members per team-
-Open Women –two members per team-
-Bodyboard Men -two members per team-
-Bodyboard Women –one member per team
-Longboard – one member per team-An Olympic style spirit will be celebrated during a week-long competition. Participants will be giving all they can for the honor of defending the colors of their countries, and to obtain the greatest glory a surfer or a country can gain: the gold medal in the main event for surfing Federations of the world.

Surfing nations will come together for the twentieth time to test their abilities to show who is more developed in surfing standards.

Worldwide colors will parade in Costa de Caparica, signaling peace and comradeship among the nations of the world and showing during a surfing event that a better world is possible.

ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, anxiously and happily awaiting the event, commented: “We are very happy and honored to bring the ISA World Surfing Games to Portugal for the second time in history. The first time was in 1998. The Portuguese Federation and the event producer, Natural Factor, shaped a superb ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in 2007. We are very confident in their ability to deliver a top level event. I’m sure that all delegations will be enjoying the Portuguese hospitality and friendship.”

After parading their banners throughout the streets of Costa de Caparica, surfing athletes will participate in the Sands of the World Ceremony, where sands from all the beaches of the universe are mixed, symbolizing that through surfing, all countries can live in a peaceful and friendly environment.

To bear in mind
The defending champions are:

-Jordy Smith from South Africa in Open Men
-Julia Christian of the United Status in Open Women
-Manuel Centeno of Portugal in Bodyboard Men
-Kira Llewellyn from Australia in Bodyboard Women
-Mathew Moir from South Africa in Longboard

History
The first World Championship happened in 1964 in Sydney, Australia and was won by the native Bernard “Midget” Farrelly among the men and his countrywomen Phyllis O´Donnell.
From then on, fifteen World Championships were held. In the beginning, and until 1976, they were organized by the International Surfing Federation – ISF. From there onwards, the International Surfing Association supervised the world championships.

In 1996, to demonstrate that surfing can be part of the Olympic Games, ISA President Fernando Aguerre created the concept and name World Surfing Games, in which the best surfers of every country in the world confront each other in a single event, establishing the different world champions and the Surfing Medal Board that designates the most developed surfing nation.

Champion Nations:
2006 –Huntington Beach, United States-: Australia
2004 –Salinas, Ecuador-: Australia
2002 –Durban, South Africa-: South Africa
2000 –Maracaípe, Brazil-: Brazil
1998 –Carcavelos, Portugal-: Australia
1996 –Huntington Beach, United States -: United States
The Arena: Costa de Caparica
Costa de Caparica is a 13-km long coastline located in the central Portuguese shore, half hour away from Lisbon International Airport.
It is a chain of very consistent left and right beach breaks strangled in some beaches by wharfs. It receives swells from the South and West and their different variations. It starts to break with waves half-a-meter high and above, and supports up to 8-feet swells.

The itinerary –subject to change-
October:
9 Team Registration
10 Team Registration
11 ISA Judges Seminar and Judges Meeting
11 AM: Managers Meeting
PM: Parade of Nations and Opening Ceremony
12-19 Competition
12-13 ISA Annual and Biennial Meeting
19 Finals and Award Ceremony
19-20 Departure days

Courses and Meetings
During the event, a Judges Course ISA Level 1 will be administered to all the judges present and there will be a meeting by all the Chiefs of Judges to set the guidelines for the following days of competition.

The Annual and the Biennial ISA Meetings will take place on October 12 – 13. These will be of fundamental importance since two of the four Vice President positions will be elected.

About International Surfing Association
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 six times since. The ISA’s four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).