The first stand-alone ISA World Longboard Championship will be held at the legendary break of Huanchaco, Trujillo, Peru, in September 2013.
Longboarding has traditionally been a division of the ISA World Surfing Games since 1988.
Due to the growing popularity of the longboard division and the increase in participating athletes, the ISA has decided to organize its own World Championship with specialized longboarding judges at one of the best surfing destinations in the world.
"Longboarding really brings the best of modern and historical surfing together. We're honored to host the first ISA World Championship in Huancacho, Peru, as this historical location is documented to be one of the original birthplaces for riding waves thousands of years ago and is home to a passionate and growing population of surfers", says Fernando Aguerre, president of ISA.
Longboards are the original equipment surfers rode before the shortboard revolution in the late 1960s.
Longboards came back in popularity in the early 1990s and made the learning curve much smoother for entry-level surfers.
Today, contemporary longboarding includes traditional maneuvers - like Hang Five, Hang Ten, and Drop Knee Turns - as well as all the gravity-defying aerial maneuvers of contemporary surfing.
Huanchaco is known not only for its world-class, consistent waves and as the birthplace of the popular "ceviche" dish but also for its long history of wave riding.
Before the Inca era about 3,000 years ago, Peruvians have been documented riding waves on their small reed fishing boats called "caballitos de totora."
The ISA World Longboard Championship will include a Women's and Junior's division for the first time.
Teams of four will compete, including two in the Open Men’s, one in the Open Women’s, and one in the Open Junior's divisions.
Individual gold medals will be awarded, as well as one overall Team Champion at the end of the contest.