The World’s Best Junior Surfers to Compete at WJSC, Ecuador
The ISA has announced the location for the 2014 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championships (WJSC) at La FAE Beach, in Salinas, Ecuador, from April 5th to April 13th. This year’s competition will take place during the 50th Anniversary year of the ISA, which hosted its first WJSC in 1980 in Biarritz, France, where legendary surfer Tom Curren launched his successful career.
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running the Open Division World Championship since 1964, the World Junior Surfing Championship since 1980, the World Masters Surfing Championship since 2007, the World Bodyboard Championship since 2011, the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival in China, and the World Standup Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship beginning in 2012. The ISA also sanctions the World Kneeboard Titles and the World Tandem Surfing Championship, and will launch the World Longboard Championship in 2013.
World Junior Surfing Championships 2014
Since Curren, there has been a long list of ISA World Junior Champions including current surfing stars Julian Wilson, Jordy Smith, Gabriel Medina, Alejo Muniz, Filipe Toledo, Owen Wright, Stephanie Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons, Laura Enever, and Tyler Wright.
The legendary freestyle windsurfing event on lake Neusiedl is back! Since 1998 the best Freestyle Windsurfers in the world travel down to the Austrian water sports capital to compete in the European Freestyle Pro Tour. This edition, taking place
between the 27th of April and the 1st of May, will be…
“We are excited to return to Ecuador as the location couldn’t be better to hold the WJSC during the ISA’s 50th Anniversary year,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Besides its welcoming people, warm weather and the amazing support of the Ecuadorian government, the area has a rich history that provides the perfect backdrop for the next generation of surfers to compete at the highest level,” Aguerre added. La FAE offers a long, peeling lefthander and a consistent punchy beachbreak for the double-area contest site.
Gabriel Medina from Brazil, Gold Medalist at the 2010 ISA WJSC. Photo: ISA/Lobo
History
The logo for the World Championship includes an image of the Sumpa Sun, which is a religious and mystic icon of the Sumpa Ecuadorian Paleo-Indian civilization that existed from 11,000 to 4,000 B.C. “Sumpa” is the native name of the Peninsula of Santa Elena where the event takes place. One of the first human groups to settle in Ecuador, and the only ones of this period discovered in the coastal region in the area, the Sumpa people based a lot of their life around the ocean. The logo not only pays homage to the ancient and rich history of the area, but it also provides a symbol to welcome young surfers from around the globe to enjoy and ride waves in the same ocean the Sumpa people based their lives around thousands of years ago.
VISSLA
“VISSLA is proud to present this year’s ISA World Junior Championship,” said Stokehouse Unlimited President Paul Naude. Naude continued, “As a global surf brand that truly embodies the cutting edge in performance surfing, we believe that this is the ideal venue to showcase the talent of top young surfers from around the world who will carry the sport forward for decades to come. It is especially meaningful to present this event in a country with such a rich history and surf culture as Ecuador.”
Turnout
Three hundred of the world’s best junior surfers (boys and girls under 18) will compete for individual titles and Gold Medals, on their national teams for the prestigious overall ISA World Junior Team Champion Trophy. Teams that competed last year include: Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Africa, Tahiti, Uruguay, United States of America, and Venezuela.
The international top event this year is all about the new Olympic windsurfing class, foil windsurfing and wingfoiling. More than 300 world’s best windsurfers from 42 nations will compete in various foil classes on Lake Silvaplana.
The first of 16 GKA Kite World Tour events begins in Cape Verde this month.
Ten islands make up the archipelago of Cabo Verde which lies two hours south of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, due to their geographical location the islands are frequented with pumping swell and trade winds.
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