Overview:
This initiative, supported by Olympic Solidarity, is about empowering young athletes and their coaches from developing nations in Asia.
The third edition of the ISA Youth Athlete Development Program was hosted from August 25-29 in the Maldives in collaboration with the Maldives Surfing Association following the Asian Surfing Federation’s Asian Surfing Championship Event.
This Program focused on building skills and long-term development strategies for future Olympians with hands-on training both in and out of the water. The program was led by ISA Coaching Experts Erik Krammer (USA) and Shannon Brown (CAN) who covered a variety of topics including surf technique, competition strategy, judging criteria, wave usage, and much more . In addition to the coaches, two ISA Athlete Ambassadors Billy Stairmand, two-time Olympian from New Zealand, and Natasha van Greunen, professional surfer and ISA Athletes’ Commission Member from South Africa served as mentors and coaches for the kids throughout the program.
The 18 participants (11 athletes and 7 coaches) successfully left this program not only with increased knowledge and surf skills but with quality memories of the time spent together, new friendships made, and incredible waves they surfed in the Maldives!
Participating Countries:
- Indonesia
- Maldives
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Thailand
