Bodyboard News

Spain Offers to Seat the World Bodyboarding Games

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 23 September, 2009 : - - Lorenzo Chavez, Manager of the Spanish Surfing Federation, and the President of the International Surfing Association, Fernando Aguerre, held a meeting during the recent Billabong ISA World Surfing Games where Mr. Chavez showed a strong  interest in organizing the first-ever edition of the ISA World Bodyboarding Games in Spain.

Chavez commented in an interview with the ISA Press Department that the plan is for the event to be held in 2010 in three possible locations: Canary Islands, Galicia or Asturias.

Why is Spain interested in holding the World Bodyboarding Games?
Spain is interested for two reasons: first, because we are a world bodyboarding power; second, to support the sport itself.  We believe that it is necessary for the federations that have Bodyboarding as a strong sport in their countries to hold a World Championship.
We also want to back the ISA in the development of this sport by doing what the ISA wants: a good Bodyboard Championship with waves that are specific to this sport, with judges that are Bodyboard specialists and the event will be exclusively for bodyboarding.

What are your expectations for this event?
What we want to do is produce the best Bodyboard Championship  to date.  We want to find perfect waves and make the best of them with the top sports men and women in the world, holding a sporting event on the same level as other events that have been organized by the ISA.

What locations are being considered by the Spanish Federation?
There are three locations that we are considering.  In Asturias, there’s a beach called Andrín that has impressive waves for Bodyboarding.  The waves are also excellent in the area of Galicia, and this zone has an added value in the fact that the local Federation has a very good structure.  We are also betting on the Canary Islands.

The order in fact is a bit in reverse, we first want the Canary Islands, then Galicia and then Asturias.

How do you think the public institutions and sponsors in Spain will receive this proposal?
We have offered the ISA the possibility of holding this event because we have the backing of the Government; they have told us that they will back everything we do and more so if it is an international event. As a Federation we are very interested in hosting more international competitions and we want to begin organizing more events.  Hopefully, this will not be the only one we will hold next year at the international level.

As for our sponsors, we have the institutional backing of the autonomic governments that host the event. This is the most important factor as well as the support of the city councils.  As for brands, we take for granted that we will have their support.

About the International Surfing Association (ISA) : The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in La Jolla, California. It is presided by Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA's four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Mike Gerard (USA) and Karín Sierralta (Peru).

www.isasurf.org

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