Confirmed: JJF, Steph, Medina and more Will Surf in ISA World Surfing Games – Surfline.com Surf News

Posted On: June 11, 2019

Confirming the news Surfline revealed a few weeks ago, the International Surfing Association announced the roster of CT competitors to represent their National Surfing Teams at the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games, scheduled for September 7th-15th in Miyazaki, Japan (just days before the Surf Ranch Pro).

Miyazaki, Japan, site of the 2019 ISA World Surfing Games.

Topping the list are four surfers with multiple World Titles — Steph Gilmore, John John Florence, Gabriel Medina, and Carissa Moore.

So, why would the world’s elite bother surfing fickle Japanese beachbreak right before chasing critical points at the world’s most perfect artificial wave? Well, according to the ISA: “This event will be held eleven months ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As per the Olympic Nomination and Eligibility Requirements, up to the top three men and women per country on the WSL CT will automatically be nominated to compete in their National Surfing teams in the 2019 WSG. Surfers that are nominated must accept their nomination in order to retain eligibility for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, barring illness or injury.”

Gabriel Medina. Photo: Sloane/WSL

“The participation of the top WSL professional surfers is a testimony to the positive and collaborative working relationship we have developed with the World Surf League over the years,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Surfers from the five continents will join the WSL contingent for this historic competition, part of the first-ever Olympic Surfing cycle. We’re stoked that the world’s best surfers embrace and understand the importance of the Olympic Movement.”

“Most CT surfers have already competed and won medals in the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, so the national team format is not new to them,” Aguerre continued. “This [event] will provide us all with a glimpse of the national pride, team camaraderie, and global stage that will be in full swing during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. This World Surfing Games is set to be the most competitive, and certainly most high-profile, in the history of this event that started in 1964.”

So basically, this event is an Olympic qualifier. The nominated CT athletes are as follows: