From December 6-13, Iquique, Chile will receive the world’s best bodyboarders to compete in the 2015 Iquique Para Todos ISA World Bodyboard Championship.
More than a dozen countries from around the globe will gather to represent their nations in the world-renowned waves of La Punta 1.
Here are the 10 things you need to know about the 2015 ISA World Bodyboard Championship:
1. The ISA World Championship
The 2015 ISA World Bodyboard Championship is an Olympic style event where the world’s best bodyboarders converge in Chile to compete for Medals in the name of their nations.
2. The Competition
The World Championship is a team competition with each National Team fielding up to seven athletes in the following categories: Open Men (3 athletes), Open Women (1), Junior Under-18 Boys (1), Junior Under-18 Girls (1) and Open Dropknee (1).
3. The Prize
The athletes compete for Individual Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper Medals and the World Team Championship Trophy, all with the honor of representing their
respective countries.
4. The Location
For the second consecutive year, the event will be held at la Punta 1, which is located at the north end of Cavancha Beach in the city of Iquique. Considered the Bodyboard capital of the country, Iquique is the ideal location for this competition due to its strong and hollow Bodyboarding waves.
5. The Wave
The wave at la Punta 1 is a shallow rock bottom break that provides hollow left and right waves. The best swell direction is north or northwest, but it also works great with a south swell.
Waves can range from 1 meter to over 10 meters; the quantity and quality of waves in Iquique are some of the best in the world.
6. The History
Bodyboarding has traditionally been a division of the ISA World Surfing Games, which has crowned Open Men’s World Bodyboarding Champions since 1988 and Open Women’s World Bodyboarding Champion since 1996. Due to the growing popularity of the Bodyboard division and the increase in participating athletes, the ISA decided to organize its own World Championship in 2011.
The ISA World Bodyboard Championship was established in 2011 in the Canary Islands, Spain. In 2012 and 2013, the competition was hosted in Playa Parguito, Venezuela. In 2014 it was held in Iquique, Chile where it will return in 2015.
7. Past ISA World Bodyboard Championship Gold Medalists
Team Champion:
2011 France
2012 Brazil
2013 Brazil
2014 Chile
Open Men:
2011 Pier Louis-Costes (France)
2012 Eder Luciano (Brazil)
2013 Eder Luciano (Brazil)
2014 Tristan Roberts (South Africa)
Open Women:
2011 Isabela Sousa (Brazil)
2012 Sari Ohhara (Japan)
2013 Neymara Carvalho (Brazil)
2014 Teresa Almeida (Portugal)
Junior U-18 Boys:
2011 Eduardo Rodríguez (Spain)
2012 Maxime Castillo (France)
2013 Jefferson Bustos (Costa Rica)
2014 Yoshua Toledo (Chile)
Junior U-18 Girls:
2012 Shiori Okazawa (Japan)
2013 Glorielys Oropeza (Venezuela)
2014 Carolina Botteri (Peru)
Open Dropknee:
2011 Ardiel Jiménez (Spain)
2012 Iain Campbell (South Africa)
2013 Luis Rodriguez (Venezuela)
2014 Amaury Lavernhe (France)
8. The Host
The Chilean Surfing Federation will host the ISA World Bodyboard Championship with the support of the Municipality of Iquique for the second consecutive year. The 2014 edition was the first ISA World Championship that took place in Chile and the start of a strong relationship between Chile and the ISA.
9. The Mission
The ISA’s mission is to develop the sport of Surfing, which includes Bodyboarding in Chile and around the world. This is accomplished through annual World Championships, membership development, educational programs, scholarship distribution and working towards Olympic Surfing.
10. The Schedule
The fifth edition of the ISA World Bodyboard Championship will officially open on December 7 with the Opening Ceremony, which will include the traditional Parade of the Nations and Sands of the World Ceremony.
The schedule is as follows:
- Friday, December 4 at 12pm – Official Press Conference at the Municipality of Iquique
- Monday, December 7 at 12pm – Opening Ceremony featuring the Parade of the Nations and Sands of the World Ceremony at Plaza Arturo Prat in downtown Iquique
- Tuesday, December 8 at 8am – Competition Begins
- Sunday, December 13 – Final day of competition, Awards Presentation and Closing Ceremony
For live action, photos, videos, news and event info, visit: www.ISAworlds.com
