ISA Launches Annual Youth Scholarship Program for 2019

The 2019 application deadline is set for July 15, with the 2019 scholarship ambassadors to be announced at the end of the year.

The 2018 class of ISA Scholarship ambassadors demonstrated the increased reach of Surfing around the globe in the lead up to the sport's Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020. Surfers from Iran, Sri Lanka, Samoa, Ivory Coast, and the Philippines all became the first-ever scholarship winners from their countries, planting the seed for future growth of the sport in these non-traditional surfing nations.

Many ISA Scholarship ambassadors have also launched successful careers after receiving their funding, most notably Costa Rica's Carlos Muñoz, who earned the team Gold Medal at the 2015 ISA World Surfing Games, and Barbados' Chelsea Tuach, who competed on the World Surf League Women's Championship Tour in 2016.

Meanwhile, Colombia's 13-year-old Freddy Marimon made history in 2018 as the first ISA Scholarship ambassador to win an individual Gold Medal when he took top honors in the AS-5 Division at the 2018 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship.

Mirroring this momentum, the 2018 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship featured seven scholarship ambassadors - all of whom achieved the honor of representing their nations at the highest level of the sport for 18 and under surfers.

ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:

"The ISA is fully committed to supporting the future generation of our sport. The scholarship program allows us to make dreams come true - helping young girls and boys to continue their education and gain access to surfing equipment so they can continue pursuing the sport they love. Young people are able to get their first surfboard, purchase their books and school supplies, or cover travel costs to enter competitions. Everyone has a unique mission that the program helps them achieve.

"It's most incredible to see the vast amount of youth who are learning to surf in regions with nascent surf cultures, such as parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and the Middle East. By helping these surfers continue to practice the sport, the stoke and joy of surfing exponentially spread and take root around the globe.

"While some ISA scholarship ambassadors go on to have successful careers in the sport, most do not. However, the value that these children get from continuing their education and discovering the healing qualities of surfing is invaluable and part of our mission to make the world a better place".

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).