The International Surfing Association (ISA) has welcomed the inclusion of Surfing on the Sports Program of the 2020 Asian Beach Games, set to take place in Sanya, China between 28 November and 5 December.

The decision to include Surfing was made by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) at their General Assembly earlier in the month and communicated officially to the ISA in recent days.

2020 will mark the second time that Surfing has featured on the program, after inclusion in the inaugural edition in Bali, Indonesia in 2008. The sport’s inclusion in this major multisport event in China marks another key milestone for the ISA’s long-term development strategy to grow all Surfing disciplines in the country.

ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:

“Surfing’s inclusion in the 2020 Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China is another great moment for the sport and its development across Asia. We are honored that Surfing will once again feature in this great continental multisport event and I would like to thank the OCA leadership for the opportunity to showcase our exciting and youthful sport in 2020.

“The ISA has been developing Surfing in China successfully for many years and our continued commitment and investment has seen all disciplines of the sport grow through increased popularity, participation and commercial appeal.

“There is huge growth potential in China, particularly on Hainan Island, which has become the center of Chinese Surfing. Over the years, we have seen Chinese surfers improve, and at the 2018 ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship we witnessed an inspirational performance by China’s Monica Guo as she became the first Chinese competitor to win a heat in an ISA World Championship.

“We are currently riding a wave of momentum towards Surfing’s debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and it’s great to see more multisport events adopting the youthful, high-performance energy of Surfing.”

Sources:

ISA

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