Para surfing

Last updated
Meira Nelson on a waveski at the 2022 Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships Meira Waveski.jpg
Meira Nelson on a waveski at the 2022 Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships

Para surfing or adaptive surfing is a form of surfing in which a disabled individual uses a board or waveski to ride on a breaking wave. Competitively, the International Surfing Association (ISA) has hosted the World Para Surfing Championships annually since 2015. In addition, the Association of Adaptive Surfing Professionals (AASP) was formed in 2022 as the international governing body of professional adaptive surfing, and administers the AASP World Tour including events in Hawaii and California for its inaugural year. The Para Surf League (PSL), launched in 2022, organizes amateur and professional contests worldwide.

Contents

Adaptive surfers are classified into different competitive divisions based on their respective disabilities, with classification generally certified by medical professionals for professional competitions. There are currently nine separate divisions recognized by the ISA, AASP, and PSL.

History

The first adaptive surfing organization, Life Rolls On, was created in 2001 by Jesse Billauer, an aspiring professional surfer who sustained a spinal cord injury in 1996. The organization holds multiple "They Will Surf Again" events each year to help disabled individuals learn adaptive surfing. [1] [2]

In 2006, Duke's Oceanfest with the help of AccesSurf Hawaii added an adaptive surfing heat as part of its competition. Since 2007 the Hawaii ASC has been held annually sustaining the platform of adaptive surfing and raising it to a professional level. [3]

In 2015, the ISA hosted the first World Para Surfing Championships (originally called the World Adaptive Surfing Championships). The inaugural event included 69 competitors from 18 nations. [4] Most recently, the 2022 event featured 181 athletes [5] from 28 nations. [6]

In 2017 the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships was born as the first professional adaptive surfing championship to offer a cash prize pool purse for all podium winners and was also the first to implement priority judging. The U.S. Open ASC was born following the standard set by AccesSurf and the Hawaii ASC as a professional platform.

In September 2019 and March 2020, para surfers underwent reorganization into more balanced sport categories, which took into account factors like their underlying health conditions, eligible impairments, and specific impairment criteria. Additionally, a conceptual framework was established to provide guidance for classification decisions and to lay the groundwork for future research in this field. [7]

In 2022, the Association of Adaptive Surfing Professionals was formed to be the international governing body of professional adaptive surfing, and to organize a tour of events for adaptive surfing professionals. In its inaugural year, the tour hosted 2 events, the Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships, and the US Open Adaptive Surfing Championships. Surfers were allotted points based on results in each contest, and those with the highest point totals were crowned world tour champions and were able to award over $100,000 to adaptive athletes in its first year. [8]

The Para Surf League launched in 2022 to organize Para Surfing competitions around the world. [9] The Para Surf League Series will be organizing events in Costa Rica, Spain, Wales, France and more. [10]

Classification

Jesse Billauer, a para surfing prone 2 surfer, paddling out with assistance at the 2022 Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships Jesse Billauer Hawaii Championships 2022.jpg
Jesse Billauer, a para surfing prone 2 surfer, paddling out with assistance at the 2022 Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships

In 2018 Dr. Maureen Johnson PhD, MS, OT/L, BCPR, C/NDT, Stoke for Life Foundation and the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships developed and copy wrote the current classification system being used by the AASP, PSL, and ISA. The ISA adopted the classification system in 2020. The ISA, AASP, and PSL each recognize the same nine divisions of adaptive surfing. [11]

Adaptive Surfing Classifications
DivisionDescription
Upper Limb Stand or Para Surfing Stand 1Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with an upper limb

amputation or congenital or impairment equivalent or short stature.

Below Knee Stand or Para Surfing Stand 2Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with a below the

knee amputation or congenital or impairment equivalent, or leg length difference.

Above Knee Stand or Para Surfing Stand 3Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with an above the

knee amputation or both lower extremity amputations or congenital or impairment equivalent.

Any Knee/Kneeling or Para Surfing KneelA surfer who has either both lower limbs amputated above the knee, is kneeling or sitting without using a paddle, or has a congenital handicap equal to one of these conditions.
Waveski or Para Surfing SitA surfer who does not need assistance to safely get on their board and paddle into a wave while in a sitting position.
Unassisted Prone or Para Surfing Prone 1Any surfer who can get into a wave and safely get back on the board while riding the wave in a prone position.
Prone Assist or Para Surfing Prone 2Anybody who rides a wave in a prone position and does need help getting into the water, paddling into a wave, and safely getting back on the board.
Blind/No Vision or Para Surfing Vision Impairment 1Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with IBSA

classification Level B1.

Partial Vision Impairment or Para Surfing Vision Impairment 2Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with IBSA

classification Level B2 and Level B3.

Events

ISA

The ISA Para Surfing World Championships hosts Olympic style surfing competitions. The competitions began in 2015 and were hosted on Prismo beach, but are now being hosted on Huntington Beach since 2023. [12] The competition has a round-robin format where each surfer gets to compete twice. The surfers are ranked according to the total of their best two waves from either heat. [13]

In the vision impairment division of the ISA Para Surfing Championship Matt Formston, of Australia, is the champion of years 2017, 2018, and 2020. [14]

2021 was the first time that the ISA Para Surfing World Championships were held outside of the San Diego area. [15]

In 2023 a record was set for the event with 183 competitors competing in the event for 27 different countries. [12]

AASP

The Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships take place annually in Waikiki. Produced by local nonprofit AccesSurf, the competition grew from an event held as part of Duke's Oceanfest in 2006, since 2007 the Hawaii ASC has been held annually sustaining the platform of adaptive surfing and raising it to a professional level. They became a standalone event in 2019 breaking away from Dukes Ocean Festival. [16]

In 2023, the Adaptive Surfing Open Pro Costa Rica will be held at Boca Barranca in Puntarenas. [17]

The U.S. Open of Adaptive Surfing Championships are held annually in Oceanside, California, produced by local non profit Stoke for Life Foundation and is the last of three events on the AASP World Tour. They were first held in 2017. [18]

PSL

The first Para Surf League contest of 2023 will be the SA Para Surf League Open, at Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town, South Africa. [19]

The Para Surf League and USA Surfing will hold the United States National Championships in Oceanside, CA. US Citizens competing in this contest will be eligible for selection to the USA Surfing National Para Surf team. [20]

The Para Surf League Open Costa Rica will take place at Playa Jaco, Garabito, Puntarenas as the third stop of the Para Surf League Series in 2023. [17] [21]

The European leg of the PSL will have contests in Spain, Wales, and France with the 2023 Para Surf League Open España 2023 Para Surf League Open España, [22] the 2023 Welsh Para Surf Champs and Para Surf League Open, [23] and the 2023 OPEN DE FRANCE #2 et Open de la Para Surf League Euro Cont. Champs. [24]

Other

The 2022 English Adaptive Surfing Open ran at The Wave in Bristol, England. [25]

Paralympics

Para surfing was one of 33 sports, including ten new sports, with submitted applications to the International Paralympic Committee for inclusion into the LA28 Paralympic Games. [26] The IPC has put Para Surfing on the short list of sports for further consideration for inclusion, and a final decision for inclusion will be made by the end of 2023. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Slater</span> American surfer (born 1972)

Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. He won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year four-times. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sofía Mulánovich</span> Peruvian surfer (born 1983)

Sofía Mulánovich Aljovín is a Peruvian surfer. She is a 3-time World Surfing Champion, 1 WSL and 2 ISA world championships,. She is the first Peruvian surfer ever to win a World Surf League World Championship Tour event and the first Latin American woman ever to win the World Title, which she did in 2004 In 2004, she won three out of the six World Championship Tour events, and finished the season as Absolute World Champion. Sofia is the only one Latin-american surfer to win 2 ISA World Championships. Sofia won the ISA Championships, 2004 in Salinas-Ecuador and 2019 in Miyazaki-Japan. Her main sponsor is Roxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Surf League</span> Governing body for professional surfers

The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional Surfing founded by Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick in 1976. IPS created the first world circuit of pro surfing events. In 1983 the Association of Surfing Pros took over management of the world circuit. In 2013, the ASP was acquired by ZoSea, backed by Paul Speaker, Terry Hardy, and Dirk Ziff. At the start of the 2015 season, the ASP changed its name to the World Surf League. Sophie Goldschmidt was appointed as WSL CEO on 19 July 2017. Paul Speaker had stepped down as CEO on 11 January 2017, and Dirk Ziff acted as the interim WSL CEO until Goldschmidt's appointment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Surfing Association</span> International sport governing body

The International Surfing Association (ISA) is the world governing authority for surfing, SUP racing, SUP surfing, para surfing, bodyboarding and all other wave riding activities. The ISA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">US Open of Surfing</span> Annual surfing competition

The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer in Huntington Beach, California. Generally held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, the U.S. Open is part of the qualification process for the World Surf League and is a WSL QS 10,000 event. It is the largest surfing competition in the world. It has been owned by IMG since 2000.

Christiaan "Otter" Bailey, is an American professional surfer, known for his experience as a surf safari guide and skill as a big wave surfer and skateboarder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carissa Moore</span> American surfer and gold medalist in the 2021 Olympics

Carissa Kainani Moore is a Hawaiian and American surfer. She was the first-ever winner of the Olympic gold medal in women's shortboard surfing at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is also a five-time world champion, winning in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2021 on the World Surf League WSL Women's World Tour. Moore was the first surfer in history to win a WSL world title and the Olympic title in the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Fitzgibbons</span> Australian surfer (born 1990)

Sally Fitzgibbons is an Australian professional surfer on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour (2009–2013). In June 2019, she was ranked No. 1 in the world for women's surfing after winning the Rio Pro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Medina</span> Brazilian professional surfer (born 1993)

Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira is a Brazilian professional surfer who won the 2014, 2018 and 2021 WSL World Championships. With 18 WSL Championship Tour (CT) event wins and 31 Final appearances under his belt, Medina is one of the most experienced surfers when it comes to producing the best surfing under pressure. Medina is second only to Kelly Slater for the most World Titles among surfers currently on the men's CT. He qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The Asian Surfing Championships is an association that promotes the sport of surfing in Asia through the organization of competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfing in the United States</span>

Surfing in the United States is a popular hobby in coastal areas, and more recently due to the invention of wave pools, inland regions of the country. It contributes to a lifestyle and culture in which millions participate and which millions more have an interest. USA surfing is the governing body for the sport of surfing in the United States, with surf leagues such as the World Surf League available in the country. Surfing can be traced back to 17th Century Hawaii and has evolved over time into the professional sport it is today, with surfing being included for the first time in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

AccesSurf is a nonprofit charity organization that offers a variety of programs, services, and events for people with a disability. Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, AccesSurf was founded in 2006. Their mission is to "empower people with disabilities by providing adaptive surfing and therapeutic educational programs on water recreation and enriches lives by helping families to access the beach and ocean in a barrier free environment." AccesSurf educates the general public about how to help people with disabilities and provide the resources necessary to create the opportunities. They have created programs locally and nationally to assist anyone with a physical disability or cognitive disability in the water environment. For the fiscal year of 2013, AccesSurf netted $104,960 with their asset amount of $112,408.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courtney Conlogue</span> American professional surfer

Courtney Conlogue is an American professional surfer. She was born in Santa Ana, California. Courtney learned to surf at the age of 4. In 2004 when she was 11, Conlogue was the youngest athlete to be selected to the USA Junior Surf Team. She went on to achieve 11th place in the 2005 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships. In 2009, at the ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica, Courtney won an individual and team Gold Medal as a USA Surfing Team member. By the time she was 14, she had won a surfing gold medal as a member of the U.S.A. Team at the X Games. When she was 16 she won the biggest competition in the USA at the Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing, held at her home break in Huntington Beach, California. She won the US Open of Surfing again in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Formston</span>

Matthew Formston is a legally blind Australian Professional Para Surfer and former professional Para Cyclist. Formston won gold and silver medals at the 2014 and 2015 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships and represented Australia with pilot Nick Yallouris, at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Formston also holds three consecutive world titles for Surfing at the ISA Para Surfing World Championships as the 2016 to 2019 Australian Champion, 2018 and 2019 US Adaptive Open (Gold) and 2017, 2018, 2019 Dukes Ocean Fest Hawaii Gold medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatiana Weston-Webb</span> Brazilian-American surfer

Tatiana Guimarães Weston-Webb dos Santos is a Brazilian–American surfer based in Kauai, Hawaii. She was the only rookie on the WCT in 2015. Weston-Webb wears jersey number 9, and her 2016 'CT rank is number 4. She competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics for Brazil. She qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfing at the 2020 Summer Olympics</span> Surfing events at the Summer Olympics

Surfing at the Summer Olympics made its debut in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The Olympics was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but was postponed to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tiarah Lue Blanco is an American professional surfer from San Clemente, California who won the first place gold medal at the International Surfing Association (ISA) Open Women's World Surfing Championship in 2015 and 2016.

Justine Dupont French professional surfer

Justine Dupont is a French professional surfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Marks</span> American professional surfer

Caroline Marks is an American professional surfer and the 2023 WSL Women's World Tour Champion. She is a multiple national champion and the youngest female to compete in a World Surf League event. She is the youngest surfer to qualify for the women’s Championship Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 World Surf League</span> The 43rd season of the World Surf League

The 2019 World Surf League was the competition series hosted by the World Surf League, the global championship body for competitive surfing. The 2019 World Surf League consisted of the Championship Tour, the Qualifying Series, Big Wave Tour, Longboard Tour, Junior Tour, and other specialty tours and events such as the Vans Triple Crown.

References

  1. ↑ Vogel, Bob (April 1, 2021). "Zen and the Art of Adaptive Surfing" . Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Mission". Life Rolls On. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  3. ↑ Lund, Casey (June 7, 2022). "Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships underway this week in Waikiki" . Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  4. ↑ "DAY ONE OF COMPETITION UNITES GLOBAL ADAPTIVE SURFING COMMUNITY AT THE 2015 ISA WORLD ADAPTIVE SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP". isaworlds.com/. September 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ Smart, Zack (December 27, 2022). "'The ocean is for everyone': Canadian Para surfer Victoria Feige at forefront of growing sport" . Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  6. ↑ "10 Things to Know About the 2022 Pismo Beach ISA World Para Surfing Championship Hosted by AmpSurf". December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Maureen; David, Heather; Ganessan, Mohan (15 December 2022). "Satisfaction of Para Surfers on Classification: A Survey Analysis". Palaestra. 36 (4).
  8. ↑ "How We Do It". Association of Adaptive Surfing Professionals. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  9. ↑ "What is the Para Surf League?". Ampsurf.com. AmpSurf. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  10. ↑ "2023 Para Surf League Series". EventBrite. AmpSurf. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  11. ↑ "ISA Para Surfing Classification". International Surfing Association. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  12. 1 2 Szabo, Matt (3 November 2023). "ISA World Para Surfing Championship hits Huntington Beach". Daily Pilot.
  13. ↑ "Campbell Riverite among world's best para surfers". Campbell River Mirror. 15 March 2020. ProQuest   2377430352.
  14. ↑ Dickinson, Laura (7 December 2022). "AmpSurf brings World Para Surfing Championships to Pismo Beach". The Tribune.
  15. ↑ Leslie, Kaytlyn (8 December 2021). "Surfers shred waves in Pismo Beach at world's largest para surfing championship". The Tribune.
  16. ↑ Fujitani, Erin (June 21, 2022). "AccesSurf kicks off first-ever adaptive surfing world tour in Waikiki" . Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  17. 1 2 Solano, L (January 13, 2023). "Back-to-Back, 2 International events of the elite of Adaptive Surfing will be held in Costa Rica in June" . Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  18. ↑ Schwartze, Elizabeth. "US Open Adaptive Surfing Championships Stoked on the Waves of Professional Surfing". Osider Magazine. No. July/August 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  19. ↑ "2023 Tyrelife Solutions SA Para Surf Champs and Para Surf League Open". EventBrite. AmpSurf. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  20. ↑ "2023 US Nationals and Para Surf League Open". EventBrite. AmpSurf.
  21. ↑ "Abierto Adaptado de Costa Rica 2023, presentado por la Para Surf League". EventBrite. AmpSurf. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  22. ↑ "2023 Para Surf League Open España". EventBrite. AmpSurf.
  23. ↑ "2023 Welsh Para Surf Champs and Para Surf League Open". EventBrite. AmpSurf. 17 August 2023.
  24. ↑ "2023 OPEN DE FRANCE #2 et Open de la Para Surf League Euro Cont. Champs". EventBrite. AmpSurf. 28 August 2023.
  25. ↑ Dines, Hannah (July 12, 2022). "Surfing moves closer to Paralympic inclusion with event at The Wave, Bristol". Wavepoolmag. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  26. ↑ Pinelli, Brian (August 5, 2022). "Para surfing attempting to ride wave of momentum into LA28 Paralympic Games" . Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  27. ↑ Houston, Michael (January 30, 2023). "Climbing and surfing still considered for Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics". Inside The Games. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.