World Standup Championships
ISA launches the World Stand Up Paddle Surfing Championship. The International Surfing Association (ISA), World Governing Authority for Surfing and all its disciplines, recognized by the International Olympic Committee, is proud to announce the creation of the first ISA World Stand Up Paddle Surfing Championship in history.
Stand Up Paddle Surfing (SUP) is one of the surfing disciplines that has grown in recent years. Known in Hawaiian as Ku Hoe He'e Nalu, it is considered by many as a “new” way of surfing, but its history actually started long before in Hawaii where the Waikiki Beach Boys used to surf with outrigger paddles. They also used SUP to take pictures of the tourists that were learning to surf.
By early 2000, Hawaiian surfers, including Dave Kalama, Brian Keualana, Rick Thomas, Archie Kalepa and Laird Hamilton, brought the discipline back to life. In less than ten years the popularity of SUP has reached the waves of every corner of the world.
The ISA is aware of the growth of the sport and would like to honor all SUP Surfers their respective medals, crowning for the first time in history a Stand Up Paddle Surfing World Champion.
ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, one of the masterminds of this initiative commented about the creation of this World Championship: “Stand Up Paddle Surfing (SUP) has had an explosive growth in the last 2 years. It’s a great complement for regular surfing, especially for those days with small waves. It can be practiced in almost any body of water. We are honored to be launching the inaugural ISA Stand Up Paddle Surfing World Championship.”
The ISA now opens bidding to countries for hosting the first ISA World SUP Surfing Championship in the history of Surfing.
If you’re interested in hosting the event, please write to surf@isasurf.org
