World’s Best Longboarders Set Sights on Gold at 2018 ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship

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No competition on Wednesday at Riyue Bay, new swell expected to provide epic finish to event

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With two days remaining in the event window of the 2018 ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship, the world’s best longboarders have their sights set on becoming the first-ever ISA Longboard World Champions to be crowned in China.

Tory Gilkerson (USA) will look to earn her first-ever ISA Gold Medal when competition resumes at Riyue Bay. Photo: ISA / Tim Hain
Tory Gilkerson (USA) will look to earn her first-ever ISA Gold Medal when competition resumes at Riyue Bay. Photo: ISA / Tim Hain

Heading into the final stretch of the competition, Team USA and Australia lead the team rankings with all surfers remaining in the competition. Behind the leaders, the race for medals is tight with South Africa, Brazil Portugal, England, Peru, and Japan separated by a mere 60 potential points.

No competition was run on Wednesday in Wanning, China due to the lack of swell, however, a new swell is expected to fill in on Wednesday and build through Thursday to provide an epic finish to the World Championship.

The standout performers through the first three days of competition have been USA’s Kevin Skvarna and Tory Gilkerson, Hawaii’s Honolua Blomfield and Kai Sallas, Brazil’s Chloe Calmon, with all having earned heat scores in the 16+ point range.

The 2018 edition of the ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship has broken records as the largest to date with 71 athletes from 22 countries, representative of the global increase in popularity of Surfing around the globe.

The event has also been a milestone for the development of Surfing in China, as their team has put on an impressive display of their progression. The local Guo Shujuan made history by being the first Chinese surfer ever to win a heat at a major ISA Championship.

El paraíso del sur de China – Riyue Bay. Foto: ISA / Sean Evans
El paraíso del sur de China – Riyue Bay. Foto: ISA / Sean Evans

The 2018 ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship will be streamed live on www.isaworlds.com from January 19-25.

The schedule for Wednesday’s competition will be the following:

8am CST call
3 heats Men Main Event Round 3
2 heats Women Repechage Round 3
3 heats Men Repechage Round 4
2 heats Women Main Event Round 3
2 heats Men Repechage Round 5
2 heats Men Main Event Round 4
2 heats Women Repechage Round 4
2 heats Men Repechage Round 6

The schedule for the remainder of the event is as follows*:

January 24-25 – Competition at Riyue Bay, 8am-4:30pm

*Schedule subject to changes.

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 103 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).