ISA Welcomes New APP World Tour 2021 StandUp Paddle Season

The International Surfing Association (ISA) today welcomes the Association of Paddlesurf Professionals (APP) World Tour’s confirmed schedule for the 2021 season – which will see the world’s best StandUp Paddle (SUP) athletes, competing at iconic destinations across the world on the sport’s only professional tour.

The expansion of the APP World Tour – which is sanctioned exclusively by the ISA – to new cities and venues is testament to the growing popularity of SUP and the significant investment made by both organisations in the sport. The APP World Tour will again include Japan, highlighting how it is a key destination globally for both Surfing and SUP. Japan has hosted many APP World Tour events, three consecutive years (2017-2019) of ISA World Championships, and will play host to Surfing’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

The 2021 APP World Tour will also make a welcome return to French Polynesia, which follows the provisional selection of Tahiti as the location for Surfing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The choice of Tour destinations again shows the momentum and positive legacy of the ISA’s global growth plan to take Surfing and SUP to more parts of the world to reach more people.

Under the leadership of the ISA, and in close partnership with APP, SUP has also enjoyed accelerated growth thanks to its inclusion in Olympic Movement multi-sport events including the Pan-American Games, Central American Games, Bolivarian Beach Games, Bolivarian Games, and Asian Beach Games.

Following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision to award the governance of SUP to the ISA at Olympic level earlier this year, the ISA will continue to pursue its ambition to see SUP have a place in future Olympic Games and other multi-sport games in the Olympic Movement..

ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, said:

"Since our historic partnership in 2017, the ISA and APP have been working constantly to develop the sport at every level and the announcement of the newly expanded 2021 season is an illustration of just how far the sport has come.

"After a challenging year for world sport, it is super exciting to see the continued momentum behind SUP and it justifies our ongoing investment to grow SUP in the best interests of the athletes and the sport.

"It is great to see destinations across the world clearly recognising the amazing value and uniqueness of the sport and this intensifies the ISA’s long-term ambition and commitment for SUP to achieve its Olympic dream."

ISA Vice President and SUP World Champion Casper Steinfath said:

"After nearly a year of not competing, I am stoked to get back on the water and go head-to-head against the best SUP athletes in the world. From London, to Tahiti, to Paris, the 2021 APP schedule features truly world-class venues that will allow us to put our best foot forward.

"The future of SUP is in good hands, with two organizations, the ISA and APP, that have historically been -- and will continue to be -- strongly committed to the global growth and development of the sport. I am confident that together we can all take SUP to new heights that it has never seen before."

The confirmed line up for the APP World Tour 2021 is below:

1. World Tour Open, location tba (Race 1): Late May / early June (final dates tbc)

2. London, UK (Race 2): 30th July - 1st August

3. Switzerland (Race 3): 6th - 8th August

4. Tahiti (Surf 1): 11th - 18th September

5. Osaka, Japan (Race 4): 24th - 26th September

6. San Diego, USA (Race 5): 1st - 3rd October

7. Maui, Hawaii (Race 6): 14th - 17th October

8. Portugal (Surf 2): 9th - 14th November

9. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Surf 3): 20th - 28th November

10. Paris, France (Race 7): 3rd - 5th December

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