Sunzal is ready for the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship 2024 – – 2024-04-21 07:31:25

The administrative manager of the National Institute of Sports of El Salvador (INDES), Juan José Gómez, participated in the official launch of the ISA World Longboard Championship (WLC) 2024, which returns to the country with the best longboard surfers in the world to compete on El Sunzal beach, La Libertad, from April 19 to 25.

The Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship (WLC) 2024 will have a record participation with 129 athletes from 39 countries coming together to compete for medals and glory.

El Salvador will be represented by Sindy Portillo and Amado de Jesús Alvarado, athletes from the Effort and Glory Program, along with Claudia Tamacas and Henry Salinas.

“We are super happy because they have brought the Longboard World Championship back to El Salvador, thanks to President Nayib Bukele who made the event possible. The entire delegation is happy and eager to deliver results,” commented Amado Alvarado.

For Portillo and Alvarado it will be their second consecutive participation after competing in 2023 in this same championship that the country also hosted on El Sunzal Beach.

In 2023, the WLC returned to the International Surfing Association (ISA) calendar after its last edition in 2019 and the pause due to the COVID-19 issue. On this occasion, the 2024 surf tournament season will begin in El Salvador.

The competition is promoted by the Ministry of Tourism in coordination with the ISA, and the coordination of different government institutions to guarantee a world-class competition.

“Surfing has come to change this country and in recent years that we have worked together with the ISA, we are going to leave a legacy and that is what we want,” said Morena Valdez, Minister of Tourism.

Thus, El Salvador consolidates itself as a world reference for surfing and tourism that boosts local commerce, in addition to positively enhancing the country’s image on an international scale.

“The strategy of President Nayib Bukele and the government of using surfing as a flag is working, they are doing it well. We are happy to be in El Salvador again, we have a record of participation and equality in the number of participants in men and women. Longboarding is growing and has a great future,” said Robert Fasulo, executive director of the ISA.

According to the ISA calendar, Friday, April 19 will be the opening and the competitions will begin from the 20th to the 24th. The finals and closing ceremony are scheduled for April 25.

Among the confirmed delegations are France, which returns to defend its title. Alice Le Moigne, Zoe Grospiron, Edoard Delpero and Martin Coret are the registered athletes, according to the ISA website.

The 2023 competition was dominated by France in both branches. In men, Frenchman Antoine Delpero, Edoard’s brother, won, and in women, top honors went to Alice Le Moigne, who won her second consecutive title.

“Thank you very much for inviting me when I am here I feel at home and all the athletes are very excited to have the opportunity to surf here again, especially because of how good the waves are this time,” Alice Le Moigne.

Japan, Australia, Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Canada, United States, Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala are other registered countries.

The ISA highlighted that the WLC promotes equality in terms of the participation of male and female surfers, in that sense, it confirmed a record of 48% female registration, so 61 women from different countries will compete on El Sunzal beach.

The Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship is the 15th tournament held by the country since 2019, as part of the Surf City strategy.

It is also the sixth ISA event in the country since 2019 and following the 2019 SUP and Paddleboard World Championships, ISA World Surfing Games 2021, which was the final Surfing qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, ISA World Junior Surfing Championship 2022, ISA World Longboard Championship 2023 and the ISA World Surfing Games 2023, which was the second qualifying event for Surfing in Paris 2024.