ISA Reaffirms Commitment to World Surfing Games with Release of Health and Safety Plan

The International Surfing Association (ISA) today reaffirms that the 2021 Surf City El Salvador World Surfing Games will take place from May 29 – June 6.

The World Surfing Games will mark the last event in Surfing’s qualification system for Tokyo 2020, filling out the remaining slots for 7 women and 5 men to head to the Olympic Games.

With the health and safety of the athletes, team officials and athletes given the utmost priority, the ISA and El Salvador government have released the health and safety guidelines that will be implemented to ensure a safe environment for the world’s top national surfing teams to compete.

The plan includes, but is not limited to, Covid testing protocol, personnel and athlete reduction on site, biosecurity measures, and entry and exit procedures into El Salvador.

To view the complete plan, click here. To view in Spanish, click here.

The 2021 World Surfing Games will take place across two world-class venues in El Salvador: El Sunzal and La Bocana.

The 12 remaining Olympic qualification slots will be awarded to the top ranking eligible athletes on an individual basis from countries that have not already filled their quotas of two athletes per gender.

In addition to the Olympic qualification slots, athletes will be competing for individual medals and the coveted Team World Champion trophy awarded to the country whose athletes accumulate the most total points in the event.

Each team will be comprised of up to three men and three women. Among the surfers selected to represent their nations will be the top three surfers of each gender from the 2019 World Surf League Championship Tour, including those who have qualified for Surfing’s Olympic debut.

To learn more about the nomination and eligibility requirements for Tokyo 2020, click here.

The reigning ISA World Champions who will return to defend their titles are Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich and Brazil’s Italo Ferreira, who also led his nation to the overall Team Title.

ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:

"It has truly been an unprecedented 12 months for the global world of sport, but we are ready to return to competition under a thorough and comprehensive safety plan. We are confident that, in partnership with the government of El Salvador, we can run the event in a manner to keep all athletes, staff, and stakeholders safe. We continue to be vigilant and up-to-date with the latest recommendations and protocol from health experts within and outside of our organization.

"This will be a major milestone for surfing and the most significant edition of the World Surfing Games in history. We will award 12 slots for Tokyo 2020 and will finally gain the full picture of who will participate in the Olympic Surfing competition that is to come this summer.

"I would like to extend my gratitude to all the athletes that have waited so patiently during these difficult times without sport, while going to great lengths to stay in competition form. They will finally get a chance to shine on the global stage and given an opportunity to raise their country flag at the Olympic Games."

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