10 Things You Need to Know about the 2016 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship

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The 2016 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship presented by Vissla and the City of San Diego is set to gather the world’s best surfers with physical challenges to unite and compete at La Jolla Shores beach in California from December 8-11.

Renowned San Diego artist Andy Davis partnered with the ISA for the second consecutive year to apply his unique style to the event’s artwork.
Renowned San Diego artist Andy Davis partnered with the ISA for the second consecutive year to apply his unique style to the event’s artwork.

Here are the 10 things you need to know about the competition:

  1. 1- Adaptive Surfing and the ISA

After the first edition of the event drew unprecedented attention from adaptive surfers worldwide, the ISA is proud build upon that success and host the second annual edition again in La Jolla, California. The event has created a wave of growth that has spurred the development of Adaptive Surfing programs around the world in countries such as France, Australia, Chile, Brazil, USA, Hawaii and South Africa, which all held national championships to field teams for the competition.

  1. 2- Watch the Event Live Online

The World Championship will be streamed live on www.isaworlds.com from December 9-11. Visit the official event website for results, photos, videos and news pertaining to the competition.

  1. 3- The World Championship

The 2016 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship is a Paralympic style team competition featuring national surfing teams of up to eight members. The athletes will compete for national pride, individual medals and a stake at becoming the historic first-ever ISA Adaptive Surfing Team World Champion.

Fellipe Lima (BRA) will return to defend his Gold Medal in the AS-3 Division. Photo: ISA / Reynolds
  1. 4- Stance – The Title Sponsor

Stance, an innovative, industry-leading lifestyle brand and presenting sponsor of the inaugural competition in 2015, has stepped up as the Title Sponsor – boosting their strong support of Adaptive Surfing and the ISA.

Follow Stance on social media to get their inside perspective of the competition:

Facebook: Stance
Instagram: @stancesocks
Twitter: @stance
Snapchat: stancesocks

The ISA would also like to thank Vissla and the City of San Diego for their commitment and support of the competition, joining the event as presenting sponsors.

  1. 5- The Divisions

Representative of the global growth of Adaptive Surfing, the ISA has added two new divisions to the second edition of the competition. This year will feature two divisions for standing athletes depending on function, as opposed to one in 2015, and a visually impaired division.

The divisions will be as follows:

  • AS-1 (Surfers who ride in a standing or kneeling position) – two athletes
  • AS-2 (Surfers who ride in a standing or kneeling position) – two athletes
  • AS-3 (Surfers who ride in a seated position on a wakeski) – one athlete
  • AS-4 (Surfers who ride in a prone position) – one athlete
  • AS-5 (Surfers who ride in a non-standing position and need assistance to paddle into waves) – one athlete
  • AS-6 (Surfers who have a visual impairment) – one athlete

 

  1. 6- Paralympic Ambitions

Coming off the back of Surfing’s recent inclusion on the Sports Program of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the ISA is committed to fostering the growth of Adaptive Surfing and creating the proper pathway for inclusion in the Paralympic and Parapan Am Games.

  1. 7- Social Media

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

Facebook: International Surfing Association (@ISAsurfing)
Instagram: @ISAsurfing
Twitter: @ISAsurfing
Youtube: ISAsurfing
Snapchat: ISA_Surfing

  1. 8- Adaptive Surfing Clinic and Symposium

The Stance ISA Adaptive Surfing clinic will be held at La Jolla Shores on Thursday, December 8. The Junior Seau Foundation Adaptive Surf Program and Challenged Athletes Foundation have teamed up with the ISA to put on the clinic for beginning to intermediate adaptive surfers with instruction from top adaptive surfers and qualified instructors.

The Adaptive Surfing Symposium will be held Wednesday, December 7 from 4pm – 8pm at the La Jolla Recreation Center. The symposium is aimed at building on the profile and platform of the World Championship to raise awareness, share best practices and initiate a conversation about how Surfing can play an ongoing and vital role in enriching the lives of physically challenged athletes.

The Stance ISA Adaptive Surf Clinic will provide an opportunity for adaptive surfers of all abilities to receive expert instruction and improve their surfing skills. Photo: ISA / Reynolds
The Stance ISA Adaptive Surf Clinic will provide an opportunity for adaptive surfers of all abilities to receive expert instruction and improve their surfing skills. Photo: ISA / Reynolds
  1. 9- The Schedule

December 7

  • Adaptive Surfing Symposium 4pm – 8pm, La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St., La Jolla, CA

December 8

  • Stance ISA Adaptive Surf Clinic hosted by Junior Seau Foundation Adaptive Surf Program, presented by Challenged Athletes Foundation, 9am – 1pm, La Jolla Shores
  • Parade of Nations and Opening Ceremony, 2:30pm, La Jolla Shores and Kellogg Park 

December 9-11

  • World Championship Competition, 8am – 4:30pm, La Jolla Shores

All Times in Pacific Standard Time.

  1. 10- The ISA’s Mission

 Recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the world governing body for Surfing, the ISA’s mission is to create a better world through Surfing. This is accomplished through annual World Championships for surfers representing their countries, development of Adaptive Surfing, membership development, educational programs, scholarship distribution and preparing for Surfing’s participation in the Olympic Games.

The International Surfing Association (ISA), founded in 1964, is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the World Governing Authority for Surfing, 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) and Paddleboard Champions in 2012.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies of 100 countries on five continents. Its headquarters are located in La Jolla, California. It is presided over by Fernando Aguerre (Argentina), first elected President in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro. The ISA’s four Vice-Presidents are Karín Sierralta (PER), Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), Casper Steinfath (DEN) and Barbara Kendall (NZL).