The 2023 ISA World Longboard Championship (WLC) is coming to Surf City El Salvador, with the world’s best longboarders competing at El Sunzal from
May 7 – 13.
El Sunzal / Photo: Pablo Franco
Here are ten things you should know about the competition:
1. Record Participation
Over 118 athletes from 32 nations will gather to compete for the coveted Team Gold medals, surpassing the previous record in 2019. Current Team World Champions, Team France, will be back to defend their title.
2. Pan-American Games Qualifier
This year’s WLC will serve as an important qualifier for both the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, as well as the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games.
The top four ranked men and top four ranked women from the Americas region will qualify for Santiago.
3. Longboarding and the Olympic Games
The ISA has long recognized the potential value of longboarding in the Olympic Games. Now that (shortboard) surfing has been confirmed as a core sport in Olympic Program for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the ISA has formally submitted longboard to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the LA28 organizers for inclusion. A decision on longboard is not expected until December 2024, which underlines the importance for the ISA and the longboard community of continuing to grow and develop the sport globally.
4. Will Alice Lemoigne go Back-to-Back?
The hotly contested women’s field has just one previous gold medalist in the draw, defending champion Alice Lemoigne (FRA). Lemoigne will be fighting strong competition to be the first woman to win two gold medals. Long-time frontrunners Chloe Calmon (BRA), Kaitlin Mikkelsen (USA), Atalanta Batista (BRA) and Maria Fernanda Reyes (PER) will each be seeking to win their first gold medal, as will newer faces like Liv Stokes (CAN), Bianca Dootson (GER) and Indie Hoffman (USA).
5. Returning Men’s Gold Medalists
Three returning men’s champions will be looking to add to their medal collections. Two-time gold medalist Antoine Delpero (FRA), defending champion Benoit ‘Piccolo’ Clemente (PER), and 2010 gold medalist Rodrigo Sphaier (BRA).
6. The ISA and El Salvador
This will be the fourth major ISA event Surf City El Salvador has hosted in the past five years. The 2019 World SUP and Paddleboard World Championship was first, followed by the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games and the 2022 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship.
The second qualifying event for shortboard surfing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the 2023 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Surfing Games, will also follow the WLC in Surf City El Salvador.
7. Gender Equality
In an effort to promote gender equality in surfing and promote women participation, the ISA adjusted its competition format in 2017 to offer equal competition slots for men and women across its World Championship Series.
Since the 2018 edition, the WLC has broken the record for female participation each year, attesting to the growth of women’s surfing on all continents of the globe.
In 2023, a record 52 women (46% of competitors) will compete and represent their nations.
8. Where to Watch
The live webcast will be streamed on www.isasurf.org from May 7-13. Visit our website for results, team rosters, photos, videos, and news pertaining to the competition.
The event can also be viewed live on the ISA’s Facebook page: International Surfing Association and on our YouTube channel @ISAsurfing.
9. Schedule
May 7 – Opening Ceremony, Competition TBC
May 8 - 12 – Competition days
May 13 – Finals and Closing Ceremony
10. Social
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 hashtags #ISAworlds and #SurfCity.
Facebook: International Surfing Association
Instagram: @ISAsurfing
Twitter: @ISAsurfing
YouTube: @ISAsurfing
Tiktok: @isasurfing