10 Things to Know About the 2024 ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Championship

The 2024 ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Championship (WSUPPC)
is set to gather the world’s best SUP and Paddleboard athletes
in Copenhagen, Denmark from September 16 – 22.

Copenhagen – September 11, 2024

Here are the 10 things that you need to know about the upcoming competition.

1. The Venue

The WSUPPC returns to Denmark seven years after the Scandinavian nation hosted its first ISA event in 2017. Taking place in the heart of Copenhagen, this year’s edition will feature the SUP and Paddleboard races happening in different locations throughout the city’s picturesque canals and stunning coast.

2. The Competitors

Over 180 athletes, representing 40 national teams, will be present in Copenhagen, including a massive eight new teams from three different continents. Latvia, Lebanon, Norway, Scotland, Senegal, Slovakia, South Korea and Thailand will all compete in their first-ever WSUPPC.

3. Denmark Aims for First Team Medal

Led by Christian Andersen, the 2019 Junior SUP Technical Race Gold Medalist and 2022 SUP Sprint Race Copper Medalist, the host nation of Denmark is fielding its largest team since the event was last held on their shores. The 23-year-old narrowly missed out on a medal in 2023, and will be looking for a strong finish as he competes at home in his seventh WSUPPC.

Andersen will be backed by a solid team that includes Noah Stender, Katrine Bergmann and Asger Wohler Smidt, who have each previously competed, along with first time ISA competitors Christopher Jeppesen, Emma Freja Pedersen, Peter Bach, and Mai Laurberg, as they seek to improve upon their previous best finish of seventh in the teams and earn Denmark its first-ever ISA team medal.

4. Returning Champions

The competition intensity promises to be at an all-time high, with multiple gold medalists returning, including Christian Andersen (DEN), Claudio Nika (ITA), Duna Gordillo (ESP), and Michael Booth (AUS), along with defending 2023 World Champions Cecilia Pampinella (ITA), David Buil (ESP), Esperanza Barreras (ESP), Judit Verges (ESP), Max Torres (PUR), Mélanie Lafenetre (FRA), Noic Garioud (FRA), Vaic Garioud (FRA) and Yurika Horibe (JPN).

5. The Disciplines

The World Championship features seven 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

6. 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 Copenhagen.

View the Copenhagen race courses here.

7. Social

The ISA will be posting live updates, photos and videos from the competition on social media. Follow along on Instagram @ISASUPok.

8. Where to Watch

The live webcast will be streamed on www.isasurf.org from September 16 – 22. Visit isasurf.org for results, team rosters, photos, videos, and news pertaining to the competition.

9. The Schedule

September 16 – Parade of Nations & Opening Ceremony, 3pm (City Venue)
September 17-18 – Technical Racing (Beach Venue)
September 19 – Team Relay (Beach Venue)
September 20 – Lay day to move to Harbor
September 21 – Copenhagen SUP Mass Participation Event, Long Distance Racing (City Venue)
September 22 – Sprint Racing, Closing & Awards Ceremonies (City Venue)

10. The ISA and Denmark

The ISA and Denmark have a long and rich history together. Starting with one of the most decorated champions in SUP history, Casper Steinfath, who won an extraordinary 6 ISA World Championships. Steinfath won his first World Title in Peru in 2013 as a 19 year-old, defeating the legendary waterman, Jamie Mitchell from Australia in an amazing duel to the finish through the surf. (That race produced one of the most iconic photos in SUP racing history, with Steinfath and Mitchell grasping hands in the final wave before the beach finish). Steinfath went on to become one of the youngest ever Vice Presidents of the ISA, stepping down in 2022 and replaced by Jakob Faerch, also from Denmark, and who is currently serving as ISA Executive Committee Member. Faerch is the President of the Danish Surf and SUP Federation and the driving force behind the ISA World Championships returning to Denmark.