Opening Ceremony | 2016 Vissla ISA World Juniors

The 2016 Vissla ISA World Junior Surfing Championship was kicked off with a memorable Opening Ceremony this morning in the streets of Ribeira Grande, Azores, Portugal. This year's competition has broken the record for largest number of athletes and countries participating in the event’s 37-year history. 371 surfers hailing from 39 countries have arrived to compete in the Azores, shattering the previous record set at the 2015 VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Oceanside, California, which featured 322 surfers from 36 National Surfing Teams. ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, said: “As the largest ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in history, this year’s competition is the pinnacle of junior surfing and a glimpse at the possible future Olympians of the sport. The increased participation and inclusion of non-traditional Surfing nations, such as Poland and Sao Tome e Principe, highlights the global expansion of the sport of Surfing to new regions of the globe. This global vision has underpinned our drive for Olympic inclusion for many years and will continue to fuel our ambitions going forward as we aim to solidify our position on the Olympic Sports Program beyond Tokyo 2020.”

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Photos: ISA / Evans