10 Things to Know About the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games

The world’s best surfers will be competing for national pride, gold medals, and Olympic qualification at the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games (WSG), held February 23 – March 3, 2024.

California, USA – February 21st, 2024

Here are 10 things you should know about the competition:

1. One Last Chance to Qualify for Paris 2024

With just months remaining until surfing makes its second appearance in the Olympic Games at Paris 2024, one final qualification opportunity awaits the world’s best surfers. Out of the 266 athletes competing, the 8 highest ranked eligible women and 6 highest ranked eligible men will directly qualify for Paris 2024 through the 2024 WSG.

The incredible waves of Teahupo’o, Tahiti await each of the qualified surfers, a location that is set to deliver an even bigger and better show than the heralded Olympic debut of surfing at Tokyo 2020. Learn more about the Paris 2024 qualification process here.

2. Top-Ranked Teams to Receive Additional Slots

In addition to individual qualification, the highest ranked team for women and the highest ranked team for men will receive a slot for their nation.

The standard national quota for Paris 2024 is capped at the two highest ranking eligible athletes per country, but a third surfer is allowed for these top-ranked teams. After the results of the 2022 WSG, this system saw a third American woman eligible for Paris 2024, as well as a third Japanese man. That same potential is available at the 2024 WSG. You can expect every team present to be bringing their top athletes.

3. The World’s Best Surfers will be in Puerto Rico

This year’s WSG features a who’s who of the absolute best surfers in the world.

–      9 former ISA gold medalists, including defending champions Alan Cleland Jr (MEX) and Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA).

–      27 of the 40 Olympians who competed in Tokyo 2020, including gold medalist Carissa Moore (USA), silver medalist Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) and bronze medalist Amuro Tsuzuki (JPN). 27 of the athletes present in Puerto Rico have already qualified for Paris 2024.

–      6 WSL Champions – five-time WSL Champion Carissa Moore (USA), three-time WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA), two-time WSL Champion Tyler Wright (AUS), two-time WSL Champion John-John Florence (USA), two-time WSL Champion Filipe Toledo (BRA) and 2023 WSL Champion Caroline Marks (USA).

4. Arecibo, Puerto Rico

The ISA is excited to return to the world-class waves of Puerto Rico and further the storied surf history of the region. Having hosted ISA events that date from as far back as 1968, to as recently as 2022, Puerto Rico has established itself as an iconic surfing location.

The competition will take place in the municipality of Arecibo at the world-renowned reef-breaks of Margara (heavy water waves) and the twin breaks of El Pico and Rastrial, which both offer solid waves.

5. Promoting Sustainability with the Surfrider Foundation

The ISA is working with the Surfrider Foundation to ensure that the WSG directly supports the conservation of Puerto Rico’s incredible coastal and marine resources. As with all ISA competitions, the ISA has committed to the elmination of all single-use plastic in order to reduce plastic waste from entering our ocean. A series of education initiatives and environmental talks will take place on-site throughout the event window featuring experts in conservation and sustainability.

On Thursday, February 22, at 10am local time the ISA and Surfrider will host an activation with international athletes, event partners, and conservation experts to restore mangrove forest near Margara, the location of the World Surfing Games.

6. Where to Watch

The live webcast will be streamed on www.isasurf.orgfrom February 23 – March 3, 2024. Visit our website for results, team rosters, photos, videos, and news pertaining to the competition.

7. 60 Years of the ISA

In 2024, the ISA is celebrating 60 incredible years of championships. Originally named the International Surfing Federation, the organization crowned the very first Surfing World Champions in Manly Beach, Australia in 1964. The ISA has been crowning champions ever since, with competitions being held across multiple disciplines on all five continents of the globe.

Continuing the legacy of those first World Championships, the World Surfing Games is the ISA’s flagship open championship event. The very first Olympic qualifying events for surfing were hosted by the ISA in 2019 in Miyazaki, Japan and in 2021 in Surf City El Salvador.

Past WSG Champions include Olympic gold medalistItalo Ferreira (BRA), Olympic silver medalist Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Jordy Smith(RSA), Courtney Conlogue (USA), and Sofía Mulánovich (PER).

8. The ISA: Continuing to Push the Boundaries

In 2024, 45% of the WSG competitors will be women. Since 2017 the ISA has offered equal competition slots for men and women across its World Championship Series, and every year those slots continue to be filled more evenly.

Additionally, two new nations will be represented for the very first time. The ISA is excited to welcome British Virgin Islands and Slovakia to their first WSG.

9. The Schedule

February 23: Parade of Nations / Opening Ceremony
February 24 – March 2: Competition Days
March 3: Finals Day, Closing Ceremony

10. 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. Don’t forget to use the official hashtag #ISAworlds.

Instagram / Facebook / X / Youtube / Tiktok: @ISAsurfing