The International Surfing Association (ISA) has today announced that the 2017 ISA World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship will be held in Denmark in September 2017, with the specific dates to be confirmed in the near future.
The ISA event will be organised by Friends of Cold Hawaii, an association that hosts annual ocean sport championships in Denmark, in collaboration with the Danish Surf and Rafting Federation (DSRF), Sportevent Denmark, Wonderful Copenhagen and Copenhagen Watersports – the largest rafting and StandUp Paddle club in Denmark.
Today’s announcement was made at Danish National House, a hospitality venue at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, located on Ipanema Beach. The signing of the hosting agreement was completed by ISA Executive Director, Robert Fasulo and President of the Local Organising Committee Friends of Cold Hawaii, Finn Jorsal. Also in attendance were IOC Member HRH Prince Frederik of Denmark, who will be a patron for the event, and ISA Vice President and SUP World Champion from Denmark, Casper Steinfath. (amend attendees as required)
The ISA World Championship will be a dual location event, with the SUP and Paddleboard Racing taking place in Copenhagen, the country’s capital, and the SUP Surfing in Klitmøller (known as Cold Hawaii) – a prime Surfing location on Denmark’s Northwest coast.
The announcement of the 2017 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship comes on the back of the confirmation of the 2016 edition, which will be held in the world-renowned waves of Cloudbreak, Fiji from 12-20 November 2016.
Joining the ISA World Championship Series in 2012 in Peru, the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship has become the fastest growing event in the series. At the 2015 edition, participation more than doubled since the event’s inception in 2012 with 27 Nations and 260 athletes converging on the shores of Sayulita, Mexico for an incredible week of competition that resulted in Team USA earning their first-ever Gold Medal.
ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, said:
“We are delighted to bring our 2017 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship to Denmark, and for the first time to Europe. We are excited to partner with our friends from Denmark whose commitment and enthusiasm for SUP is a testimony to the global growth and development of this key ISA discipline. With our 2016 Championship in Fiji this November followed by Denmark next year, SUP and Paddleboard are becoming more and more universal.
“As the world governing authority for SUP and Paddleboard, we are working every day to foster the worldwide development and growth of these disciplines. Following the inclusion of SUP Racing and SUP Surfing in the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, bringing this competition to Denmark and Europe will provide another outstanding platform to showcase the elite athletes competing in a world-class event, raising the global profile of the sport.
“We can expect the world’s best SUP surfers, SUP racers and Paddleboarders to grace the waterways of Copenhagen and shores of Northern Denmark and experience the amazing coastline and warm hospitality of the country. I would also like to express my thanks and gratitude to Friends of Cold Hawaii and the Danish Surfing and Rafting Federation.
Finn Jorsal, President of Friends of Cold Hawaii, said:
“We are honoured and proud to announce that Denmark will be the first European country to host the ISA World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship. Our ambition to grow and develop SUP and Paddleboard is aligned to the vision of the International Surfing Association and we are delighted to be working in partnership to promote the sport.”
“We are thrilled to make this announcement here in Rio where Surfing has just been confirmed as an Olympic sport for Tokyo 2020. This is a fantastic opportunity for the whole sport and we are determined to support the ISA as we continue the development of SUP and Paddleboard with the hope that these disciplines will also one day become a part of the Olympic Games.”
Lars Lundov, CEO of Sport Event Denmark, said:
“Denmark will become the first European country to host the 2017 ISA World StandUp Paddle & Paddleboard Championship. Denmark is well known for our innovative and creative staging of international sporting events and we intend to showcase the event and SUP as a sport to especially the Europeans. It is therefore a great pleasure to witness the signing of the hosting contract with ISA during the Olympics here in Rio,”
About the International Surfing Association:
The International Surfing Association (ISA), founded in 1964, is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Body for Surfing, StandUp Paddle (SUP) Racing and Surfing, Bodyboarding, Adaptive Surfing, Kneeboarding, and all other wave riding activities, including the use of wave riding equipment on flat water. The ISA crowned its first Men’s and Women’s World Champions in 1964 and holds annual world championships for national teams and surfers officially representing their countries in the aforementioned disciplines. With 35 million surfers worldwide, the ISA is committed to the global development and promotion of surfing and all its disciplines, running a number of key programmes including the ISA Coaching & Instructing Programme, the ISA Judging Programme, the ISA Adaptive Surfing Symposium and the ISA Scholarship Programme assisting underserved youth surfers from around the world to enhance their careers while continuing their education. Headquartered in La Jolla, California (USA), the ISA includes National Federations governing surfing and its disciplines in 100 countries on five continents.