Canadian surfers set to compete at 2017 ISA World Surfing Games
With surfing making its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, all eyes this weekend will be on the 2017 ISA World Surfing Games in Biarritz, France, as the world’s top surfers compete for gold.
As Surf Canada makes its push to develop Canada’s first ever Olympic surfing team, last weekend Canadian surfers began their Olympic journey as they competed at the national championships on home water in Tofino, BC. That helped select the four men and two women who will represent Canada at this year’s world championships, taking place May 20-28, which will be a stepping stone towards their first opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games.
Related: Canadian surfers compete for a ticket to worlds
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Here are the Canadians entered in this year’s World Surfing Games:
Open Men: Sean Foerster (age 18, two-time Canadian champion), Logan Landry (age 27, from Kentville, NS), Noah Cohen (age 28, from Nanaimo, BC), Michael Darling (age 22, from Vancouver)
Open Women: Leah Oke (age 32, from Sooke, BC), Hanna Scott (age 26, from Victoria)
You can learn a little more about these and other top Canadian surfers here.
The event will be livestreamed on www.isaworlds.com. The women will compete May 20-22 with the men following on May 23-28.
The ISA World Surfing Games were first held in 1964 and are returning to Europe for the first time since 2008 when it was held in Costa da Caparica, Portugal. The iconic surf city of Biarritz, located in France’s south west Basque County, will host the 2017 Games at Grande Plage beach. This will be the third time the World Surfing Championships have taken place in France – the first was in Biarritz in 1980, followed by Lacanau in 1992.
Related: Surfing one of five new sports added for Tokyo 2020
Due to surfing’s growth in popularity, sparked by its addition to the Olympic Games, this year’s ISA World Surfing Games are set to break the record for country participation. The current record was set in 1996 when 36 nations crowded the shores of Huntington Beach, California. This year, more than 40 countries are expected to compete in Biarritz, an increase of more than 20 from last year’s event in Costa Rica, with many of them competing for the first time, including Afghanistan, China, Chinese Taipei, Greece, Senegal and South Korea.
With both individual and team medals at stake, competition is high, so tread lightly surfers.
