Rio de Janeiro Confirmed as Host for 2023 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship

World’s premier junior surfing competition to be held November 24 – December 3, 2023

California, USA – July 14, 2023

The ISA is thrilled to announce that the 2023 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship (WJSC) will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on November 24 – December 3, 2023.

It will be the 19th edition of the championship and the second time the event has been hosted by Brazil, after the 2006 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship was held in Maresias. Two historic editions of the ISA World Surfing Games were also hosted by Brazil, the first of which was in Rio de Janeiro in 1994.

The best junior surfers from every part of the globe will contend for medals in this prestigious event that has proved itself as a direct pathway to the Olympic Games. 33 out of the 40 Tokyo 2020 Olympic surfers previously participated in the WJSC, 16 of them claiming ISA World Junior medals, including two-time ISA World Junior Champion Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA).

Past ISA World Junior Champions also include Gabriel Medina (BRA), Filipe Toledo (BRA), and Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), along with Paris 2024 qualified surfers Jordy Smith (RSA) and Brisa Hennessy (CRC).

The WJSC is being hosted by the Brazilian Surfing Confederation (CBSurf) with the strong support of the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the State of Rio de Janeiro.

ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:

“We are so excited to return to the incredible beauty and energy of the beaches of Brazil. Brazilian surf fans are amongst the most passionate on earth. It will be amazing to see the best up-and-coming surfers in the world able to feel that passion and use it to fuel phenomenal performances.

“I have loved witnessing the steep development of CBSurf under the guidance of its President Flavio ‘Teco” Padaratz. We are stoked to be able to partner together with CBSurf and the government of Rio de Janeiro to deliver what will no doubt be a thrilling and historic competition.

“There is no better way to see the vision of the ISA for a better world through surfing achieved than through the youth. They are our future World Champions, future Olympians, future gold medalists, and the values learned through events like this will affect generations to come.”

Claudio Castro, Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro said:

“The Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro fully supports our Brazilian Surfing Confederation (CBSURF) in their ambition to host the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Rio de Janeiro. We are certain that CBSurf will be an excellent, capable partner for the ISA, with the skills and background to hold such an important event. Rio de Janeiro is a city that breathes sport and has become the world home of some of the biggest sporting events. We are sure that the choice for Rio de Janeiro will bring the ISA, not only the confidence of their choice, but also a recognition for the best world juniors ever held.”