Press Release: The International Surfing Association (ISA) has welcomed the inclusion of Surfing on the Sports Program of the 2020 Asian Beach Games, set to take place in Sanya, China between 28 November and 5 December.
The decision to include Surfing was made by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) at their General Assembly earlier in the month and communicated officially to the ISA in recent days.
2020 will mark the second time that Surfing has featured on the program, after inclusion in the inaugural edition in Bali, Indonesia in 2008. The sport’s inclusion in this major multisport event in China marks another key milestone for the ISA’s long-term development strategy to grow all Surfing disciplines in the country.
The ISA began holding global events in China in 2012 with the goal of expanding the reach of the sport in one of the world’s most populous nations. After multiple years of ISA Shortboard Surfing events being held in the province of Hainan, the ISA most recently brought successful editions of the World Longboard Surfing Championship and World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship to China in 2018.
Growth in Chinese Surfing reached a new high in 2017 when the country fielded their first-ever team at the 2017 ISA World Surfing Games in Biarritz, France.
