From the 24th of May to the 1st of June 2008

Hossegor – Seignosse – Capbreton (Landes, France)

For the first time, France is set to host the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships.

Presented by Quiksilver and Roxy the event will be organised by the French Surfing Federation (FFS) with the support of the Ministry of Sport and sanctioned by the International Surfing Association (ISA).

The ISA is recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

More than 250 athletes, from the world’s top surfing countries and some less usually associated with the sport, will come together in an Olympic spirit to compete for the title of World Junior Team Champion and individual World Junior Champion.

The world’s top junior surfers will vie for waves in the celebrated beach breaks at Hossegor, Capbreton and Seignosse in southwest France.

Unlike standard professional events, the competitors will compete as members of their official National Surfing Teams. This format is unique in world surfing. The surfers will be competing solely for the honour of receiving a gold, silver, bronze or copper medal and representing their nation. In addition, the team winner will also receive the perpetual Quiksilver ISA World Junior Team Surfing Champion trophy.

With just a few months to go until Beijing 2008, Olympic fever is set to grip the world of surfing, which hopes soon to become one of the official sports at the Summer Games.

Highlights

The Parade of Nations

All National teams will march together through the town of Hossegor. The grand musical parade, with the teams carrying their national flags and wearing their country’s colours, will end with the traditional Sands of the World Ceremony. The ceremony marks the opening of the World Championship. Each nation pours sand brought from their respective country into a large sandbox, as a sign of unity and fraternal spirit.

Roxy and Quiksilver: partners since 2003

As supporters of the competition since its creation in 2003, Quiksilver and Roxy, world leaders in the boardriding sports industry, are underscoring their commitment to promoting and developing surfing. The two brands have always striven to provide youngsters with the quality organisation and competition they need to progress and improve. They are also firm supporters of the FFS in its efforts to help the country’s young surfers make it to the highest level.

Made in France

Also, the Quiksilver ISA Junior World Surfing Championships offer a wonderful chance to put the spotlight on the steadily-growing French and European surfing community. Following in the wake of a golden generation that includes the likes of Jérémy Florès and Miky Picon, Lee-Ann Curren and Pauline Ado, the new wave of French surfing is gearing up to take over. France will be looking to Alizé Arnaud, Maxime Huscenot or Dimitri Ouvré to equal or even improve on the excellent second place finish earned in Brazil in 2006, where Pauline Ado powered her way to the Girls World Junior Champion title.

About the International Surfing Association

The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the World Governing Authority for surfing, bodyboarding and surfriding. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running world championships since 1964 and the Junior World Championships since 1980.
ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of over 50 countries on six continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is chaired by President Fernando Aguerre, first elected in 1994 in Rio, and re-elected six times since. The ISA’s four Vice Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Robin de Kock (South Africa), Maile Aguerre (Hawaii) and Mike Gerard (USA).

About the ISA and the World Junior Championships

The Junior division of the ISA-organised World Surfing Games was created in Biarritz (France) in 1980. It was won that year by future 3 times professional world champion Tom Curren. In 2002, the ISA decided to make the junior division a stand alone event, and the inaugural Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships were held in Durban (South Africa) in 2003. They have since travelled to Papeete (Tahiti) in 2004, Huntington (Ca, USA) in 2005 and Maresias (Brazil), whilst Portugal hosted the 2007 edition, which saw record participation with 257 competitors involved.

The ISA World Championships at a glance

Three categories: Boys U18, Boys U16 and Girls U18.

2007 winners:

Garrett Parkes (Australia), Team Quiksilver rider – Gold medal in the Boys U16 category

Jadson Andre (Brazil), Gold medal in the Boys U18 category

Sally Fitzgibbons (Australia), Gold medal in the Girls U18 category

Programme:

24 May: Parade of Nations and Opening Ceremony with mixing of the sands.

25 to 31 May: Main event – Waiting period

1 June: Medals and Closing Ceremony.

About the French Surfing Federation (FFS)

The French Surfing Federation (FFS) was founded in 1964. Its role is to organise, promote and regulate surfriding and its six associated disciplines in France. Backed by its various leagues and regional committees, the FFS has been working tirelessly to guarantee the future of high-level French surfing for over 40 years.
Its self-appointed mission is to “act, share and educate”. The FFS is proud of its development, and now has more than 39,000 members, whilst some 140 schools and clubs all over France and its overseas territories have gained official “Ecole Française de Surf” (French Surfing School) accreditation. The FFS’s activities go even further than this, however, and the Federation is also developing three “outside sport” commissions in a bid to open up access to surfing as widely as possible. Through the Ecosurf commission, the FFS seeks to educate about environmental issues and to raise awareness among both surfers and the general public, about the sport’s impact on the ocean, dunes and beaches. The FFS also coordinates the Handisurf and Social Cohesion commissions, which aim to restore social links and make the sport as accessible as possible, by introducing people who would not normally get the chance to the joys of boardsports (disadvantaged young people, disabled people).

France and the world’s elite

One of the aims of the FFS is also to lay the groundwork for the future success of the country’s top sportsmen and women. Setting up sports sections is one way of helping school students to reach the top level. The top level is managed by the French centre (Pôle France) in Bayonne, and the three youth centres (Pôles Espoirs) in Brittany, Guadeloupe and Reunion. The results are plain to see! For a number of years, France has been a member of the exclusive club formed by the world’s top surfing nations. Jeremy Florès and Mikael Picon have qualified for the ASP World Tour, Pauline Ado has become the world junior champion and the French team has enjoyed great success, finishing as runners-up in the 2006 ISA World Championships and being crowned ESF European Champions in 2006 and ISA Tag Team World Champions in 2005.

About the Quiksilver group

Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE:ZQK) is the world’s leading outdoor sports lifestyle company, which designs, produces and distributes a diversified mix of branded apparel, wintersports equipment, footwear, accessories and related products. The Company’s apparel and footwear brands represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people that connect with its boardriding culture and heritage, while its wintersports brands symbolize a long standing commitment to technical expertise and competitive success on the mountains.
The reputation of Quiksilver Inc.’s brands is based on different outdoor sports. The Company’s Quiksilver, Roxy, DC and Hawk brands are synonymous with the heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its beach and water oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji and Leilani. The Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, and Look brands are leaders in the alpine ski market, and the Company makes snowboarding equipment under its Rossignol, Dynastar, DC, Roxy, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal labels.
The Company’s products are sold in over 90 countries in a wide range of distribution, including surf shops, ski shops, skateboard shops, snowboard shops, its proprietary Boardriders Club shops, other specialty stores and select department stores. Quiksilver’s corporate and Americas’ headquarters are in Huntington Beach, California, while its European headquarters are in St. Jean de Luz and St. Jean de Moirans, France, and its Asia/Pacific headquarters are in Torquay, Australia.