The 2018 Stance ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship (WASC) presented by the City of San Diego kicks off tomorrow as the world’s best adaptive surfers gather in La Jolla, USA December 12-16 to represent their nations in search of Gold Medals.
Twelve individual World Champions and one Team World Champion will be crowned in this fourth edition of the event.
- 1. Record-breaking participation
The 2018 edition has followed a year-over-year exciting trend in participation growth fueled by the ISA and has broken the records for total and women competitors.
A record-breaking 120 total competitors, 37 of whom are women, from 24 nations will compete in the event.
This represents a 75% increase in athlete participation since the event’s inception in 2015.
- 2. Striving for gender equality
The record in women’s participation demonstrates the ISA’s push to strive for gender equality in Para-Surfing.
In 2017 the ISA crowned the first women World Champions and in 2018 the women’s division will award team points for the first time.
- 3. How to watch the event live online?
The WASC will be streamed live on www.isasurf.org December 12-16.
You can also watch live on the ISA’s Facebook page.
- 4. Stance the Title Sponsor & the supporters
Stance, an innovative, industry-leading lifestyle brand and Title Sponsor since 2016, has continued their dedicated support of Adaptive Surfing and the ISA and renewed as Title Sponsor.
Follow Stance on social media:
Facebook: Stance
Instagram: @stancesocks
Twitter: @stance
The event also has the dedicated support of the City of San Diego event as presenting sponsor and Challenged Athletes Foundation and the Foundation for Global Sports Development as Gold level sponsors.
- 5. The divisions
The WASC classifies athletes into six groups based on the type and level of impairment. Each classification will feature an open gender division and a women’s division.
AS-1: Surfers who ride waves in a standing position (lower level impairment)
AS-2: Surfers who ride waves in a standing or kneeling position (higher level impairment)
AS-3: Surfers who ride waves in a seated position
AS-4: Surfers who ride waves in a prone position
AS-5: Surfers who ride waves in any non-standing position and need assistance to paddle into waves and while in the water.
AS-VI: Surfers who have a visual impairment.
- 6. Paralympic Ambitions
After the ISA’s success in including Surfing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2016, it has been a priority to see adaptive surfing included as well in the Paralympics.
While Para-Surfing has not currently been included in the sports program for the Paris 2024 Paralympics, the ISA is striving for inclusion in future editions of the Games, possibly as soon as Los Angeles 2028.
- 7. The World Champions
The 2017 World Champions are as follows:
AS-1: Adi Klang (ISR)
Women AS-1: Kazune Uchida (JPN)
AS-2: Alcino ‘Pirata’ Neto (BRA)
Women AS-2: Dani Burt (USA)
AS-3: Jeff Munson (USA)
Women AS-3: Alana Nichols (USA)
AS-4: Bruno Hansen (DEN)
Women AS-4: Ann Yoshida (HAW)
AS-5: Barney Miller (AUS)
Women AS-5: Ava Heller (HAW)
AS-VI: Matt Formston (AUS)
Team: Brazil
- 8. 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 YouTube and don’t forget use the official hashtags #ISAworlds, #InspiredSurfers and #theuncommonthread.
Facebook: International Surfing Association (@ISAsurfing)
Instagram: @ISAsurfing
Twitter: @ISAsurfing
Youtube: ISAsurfing
- 9. Fostering the future generations
The ISA continued its commitment towards the development of adaptive surfing by holding its fourth annual ISA Adaptive Surfing Clinic on December 9 in San Diego.
Kicking off the week of festivities, the goals of the clinic were to promote participation at all levels in the sport and to introduce the healing qualities of surfing and the ocean to surfers with physical challenges.
- 10. The schedule
Wednesday, December 12:
- Opening Ceremony at La Jolla Shores & Kellogg Park, 9:30am – 11:30am
- Start of Competition at La Jolla Shores, 1:00pm – 4:30pm
- Adaptive Surfing Symposium at La Jolla Shores Hotel, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
December 13-16:
- Competition at La Jolla Shores, 7:00am – 4:30pm
Sunday, December 16:
- Closing Ceremony at La Jolla Shores following the competition Finals
