Surfing’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 is also just two months away, which is a wonderful and historic time for our sport. This makes the 2021 WSG the most important ever - it is the long-awaited climax to Olympic qualification. We can’t wait to showcase our sport’s unique values of youth, unity, peace and high performance to a new, global audience. 

I wish to offer a huge thank you to the organisers of the WSG and the government of El Salvador for their hospitality and commitment to running a world-class event. Thanks also to the people of El Salvador for their warm welcome after difficult times - we hope the WSG brings hope and happiness with a great sporting spectacle in the ocean.

The safety of athletes, staff and the people of El Salvador is, of course, our number one priority, thus we have implemented a robust biosecurity and safety plan. It has been a challenging time for all, but as we emerge from the pandemic it is great to be able to celebrate our amazing sport in beautiful El Salvador.

It is so exciting that this is the first time that El Salvador will get to host the WSG. La Bocana and El Sunzal are truly world-class surfing locations and perfect canvasses for the world’s best to showcase their talents.

More than 250 surfers from 51 nations across all continents of the globe will be competing at the WSG, and they will all be battling it out for the last remaining Olympic slots, with 12 up for grabs - seven for women and five for men.

It is going to be an extra-special World Surfing Games: a record 121 women will be here competing, representing 47 per cent of the field. We also welcome new nations as the sport spreads to new corners of the globe. Ukraine, the ISA’s 109^th and newest member, will be participating at the WSG for the first time.

The event will be streamed live daily on our new and totally revamped website isasurf.org and the ISA’s Facebook page, so be sure to check out the action.

And of course, with Olympic qualification on the cards, excitement is even greater this year ahead of the start of Tokyo 2020.

Our planning and preparations for Tokyo are fully on track, and despite the understandable and necessary restrictions, we are preparing for a great Olympic celebration that shows the strength of human resilience in the face of adversity. Tokyo 2020 will welcome the first ever Olympic surfers and they - along with everyone at the ISA - will join the global Olympian community to show the power of sport and humanity to overcome challenges.

I am so proud of the ISA’s dedication to making surfing an Olympic sport, and I can’t wait to see this dream being realised in just two months’ time. We faced numerous obstacles during our pursuit of this dream, but we persevered, and it is now time to paddle hard for the final wave to the Olympic Games. Thank you to the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 for your inspirational vision and leadership. We are certain that Tsurigasaki Beach in Tokyo will be the perfect location for us to showcase the very best of our sport and we can’t wait to demonstrate the great excitement, value and youthful energy surfing will bring to the Games.

Best of luck to all the athletes competing at the WSG - I’m looking forward to seeing you all perform at your best and join us in our mission to make a better world through surfing!