10 Things to Know about the 2019 ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship

Here are the ten things to know about the upcoming event:

A record-breaking 104 athletes from 32 countries are set to compete, making 2019 the biggest edition of the event to date. The 2018 WLSC in Wanning, China held the previous record, with 71 athletes from 22 countries.

In an overarching effort to promote women’s participation across all disciplines of Surfing, the ISA has made each event in its World Championship Series gender equal, offering equal slots for men and women on each team. The ISA saw record numbers of women competing in 2018, and the 2019 edition has eclipsed these numbers, hosting a record 46 women.

The ISA World Championship will be streamed live www.isasurf.org from May 26 – June 2. Visit the official event website for results, photos, videos and news pertaining to the competition.

Fans will also be able to watch the live webcast on the ISA’s Facebook page, International Surfing Association.

Côte des Basques surf break has played a historic role in European Surfing as the first place that the sport was practiced on the continent in 1957. Since then, France’s Basque Country, with Biarritz at its center, has played a key role in the development of European surfing, hosting global events and producing world-class athletes.

Longboard was first held as an ISA medal division at the 1988 ISA World Surfing Championships (now the ISA World Surfing Games) in Puerto Rico. The discipline continued as part of the ISA World Surfing Games until 2013, when it was held as a stand-alone event for the first-time in Huanchaco, Peru. 2019 will mark the third time the global event will run, set to crown the first ISA Longboard World Champions in France since the 1992 World Surfing Championships in Lacanau.

The 2018 ISA Men’s and Women’s World Champions will both return to the event, however, in different capacities.

Kai Sallas, who won the Men’s Gold Medal in 2018 for Team Hawaii, will return to compete for Team USA. Due to the event’s qualification status for the 2019 Lima Pan Am Games and 2019 ANOC World Beach Games, only nations with National Olympic Committees may compete.

Tory Gilkerson, who won the Women’s Gold Medal on Team USA in 2018, will participate, not on the water, but this time as a judge, bringing her expertise in the discipline to the ISA’s international judging panel.

The 2019 WLSC holds a special status as a qualifier for Surfing’s debut in two Olympic Movement events.

For the surfers of the Americas, a qualification spot for the top finishing man and woman is at stake for the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, which will display the high performance and grace of longboard in the world’s second largest multisport event behind the Olympics.

In addition, the 2019 WLSC will serve as a qualifier for the inaugural ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego, USA. The top three finishing teams will earn two slots per gender for their National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the fourth and fifth teams will earn one slot per gender for their NOC. The top finishing man and women from Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania not qualified through the previous criteria will also earn a spot for their NOC. A total of 26 places (out of 32 total) will be allocated through the 2019 WLSC.

View the Pan Am qualification process here and the ANOC World Beach Games qualification process here.

The ISA will be posting live updates, photos and videos from the competition on social media. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and don’t forget to use the official hashtags #ISAworlds and #ISAWLSC.

Facebook: International Surfing Association (@ISAsurfing)

Instagram: @ISAsurfing

Twitter: @ISAsurfing

Youtube: @ISAsurfing

May 25 – Official press conference, 10am at Radisson Blu Hotel

May 26 – Opening Ceremony, Parade of Nations 10am at Place St Eugenie, Biarritz, ceremony to follow at Côte des Basques

May 27 – June 2 – Competition at Côte des Basques

June 2 – Closing Ceremony following the competition finals at Côte des Basques

The 2019 ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship has been organized in conjunction by the International Surfing Association and the French Surfing Federation (FFS).

The ISA and FFS would like to thank the partners and supporters of the event, who include: the City of Biarritz, National Centre for the Development of Sport, French National Olympic Committee, Nouvelle Aquitaine Region, Pyrénées Atlantique Region, Agglomeration Community of Basque Country Cities, Linkcity, Sojasun, Tourtel Twist, AFC Promotion, Le Carlos, and Mini.

The International Surfing Association (ISA), founded in 1964, is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. The ISA governs and defines Surfing as Shortboard, Longboard & Bodyboarding, StandUp Paddle (SUP) Racing and Surfing, Bodysurfing, Wakesurfing, and all other wave riding activities on any type of waves, and on flat water using wave riding equipment. The ISA crowned its first Men's and Women's World Champions in 1964. It crowned the first Big Wave World Champion in 1965; World Junior Champion in 1980; World Kneeboard Champions in 1982; World Longboard Surfing and World Bodyboard Champions in 1988; World Tandem Surfing Champions in 2006; World Masters Champions in 2007; and World StandUp Paddle (SUP, both surfing and racing) and Paddleboard Champions in 2012.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Federations of 106 countries on five continents. The ISA is presided over by Fernando Aguerre (ARG). The Executive Committee includes four Vice-Presidents Karín Sierralta (PER), Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), Casper Steinfath (DEN) and Barbara Kendall (NZL), Athletes' Commission Chair Justine Dupont (FRA), Regular Members Atsushi Sakai (JPN) and Jean Luc Arassus (FRA) and ISA Executive Director Robert Fasulo as Ex-officio Member.

Its headquarters are located in La Jolla, California (USA).

For more information, please visit www.isasurf.org

Below you can enjoy a video edit from last year's ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship final day, as well as the trailer for this year's event!