Tune In To The ISA World SUP & Paddle Board Championship Now

ISA - The 2022 ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship (WSUPPC) is set to gather the world's best SUP and Paddle board athletes in San Juan, Puerto Rico from October 28 to November 6. Here are 10 things that you need to know about the upcoming competition:

1. The Venue

The beautiful coast of San Juan in Puerto Rico will be on full display as SUP Racing and Paddle board are staged in the heart of the famous Laguna del Condado and Bahia de San Juan, while SUP Surfing is scheduled to take place in "La 8," a well-known local break.

2. Pan Am Qualification

The 2022 WSUPPC will qualify four athletes directly to compete in the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games. The top ranking 4 men and 4 women from the Americas in both SUP Surfing and the SUP Tech Race will earn a spot in Santiago 2023.

3. Where to Watch

The live webcast will be streamed on www.isasurf.org from October 28 - November 6. Visit isasurf.org for results, team rosters, photos, videos, and news pertaining to the competition.

4. First Championship Since 2019

The competition promises to be intense, after a 3-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple gold medal winners including Tituoan Puyo (FRA), Lina Augaitis (CAN), Candice Appleby (USA) and Daniel Hasulyo (HUN) will each return, as will defending 2019 gold medalists Benoit Carpentier (FRA), Esperanza Barreras (ESP), Julen Marticorena (FRA), Hunter Flueger (USA), Christian Andersen (DEN) and Claudio Nika (ITA).

5. Will Max Torres claim Puerto Rico’s first SUP medal?

After making the SUP Surfing Semifinals in 2019, Puerto Rico’s Max Torres will be looking to go one better and win his first ever ISA medal on home turf. As well as being the island’s top SUP surfer, he also helps encourage others to race and surf. Will he win a medal for his home country?

6. The Disciplines

The World Championship features eight medal-awarding disciplines, including:

• Men's and Women's SUP Technical Race
• Boy's and Girl's Under-18 SUP Technical Race
• Men's and Women's Paddleboard Technical Race
• Men's and Women's SUP Distance Race
• Men's and Women's Paddleboard Distance Race
• Men's and Women's SUP Sprint Race
• Team Relay Race
• Men's and Women's SUP Surfing

SUP Surfing

Competitors will be judged in the same way as shortboard surfing but considering the use of the paddle. Judges will consider higher scores when the paddle is used to multiply the force and acceleration on turns.

SUP Sprints

Paddlers will race from the beach to a buoy 100 meters off shore and return to the beach. The first across the line wins.

Technical Races

Athletes start from the beach and navigate out through the waves around buoys. A total of 3 laps (5km) testing their waveriding and surf knowledge. There are Prone Paddleboard and Standup Paddle disciplines.

Long Distance Race

Essentially the marathon race of SUP, the course here is over 18km around old San Juan. This will take the leaders about an hour to complete in open ocean. There are Prone Paddleboard and Standup Paddle disciplines.

7. The Races

The World Championship will feature four separate race courses for the Technical Race, Distance Race, Sprint Race and Team Relay Race. The courses are designed to challenge the world-class athletes with various conditions while displaying the beauty of the coast of Puerto Rico.

8. The ISA’s Global Leadership Of SUP

Under the leaderships of Fernando Aguerre, the ISA has recently presented SUP Technical Racing to the IOC and LA28 Organizing Committee for inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Sports Program. Achievements such as inclusion of SUP in the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima and the upcoming 2023 Pan American Games, under the ISA’s leadership, add momentum to the ISA’s push for inclusion in LA28 and beyond.

9. 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 hashtag #ISAworlds!

Facebook: International Surfing Association
Instagram: @ISAsurfing
Twitter: @ISAsurfing
YouTube: @ISAsurfing
Tiktok: @isasurfing

10. The ISA and Puerto Rico

The ISA is excited to host this championship in such an incredible location that is steeped in surfing and SUP culture. The choice of Puerto Rico to host this event reinforces the region’s reputation as a world-class destination that celebrates the sport’s SUP and surfing heritage.

For more SUP news, click HERE.

Article courtesy ISA.