Cover photo: Cabarete by WSL 

Surfing will be included in the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games taking place in the Dominican Republic this year, according to an organizational document obtained by DUKE from a source.

The surfing competition will feature shortboard, longboard and SUP surfing and will take place at Encuentro beach, Cabarete between July 25 and 29.

Each country in the Central American and Caribbean region will be able to qualify a maximum of two surfers for the competition.

The participating countries are: Antigua and Barbuda, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, Dominica, Aruba, El Salvador, Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, Guadeloupe, Belize, Guatemala, Bermuda, Guyana, Colombia, Haiti, Costa Rica, Honduras, Cuba, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Nicaragua, United States Virgin Islands, Panama, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

The manual is not very clear about the quantities: There will be 18 medals awarded, three disciplines and two genders, that is, six podiums, and they detail that 36 athletes compete, 34 plus two locals.

It is unclear whether it is by discipline by gender or if it is the total of 36. If so, it would be a maximum of six per discipline per gender.

Meanwhile, the document details that qualification will be determined through the 2026 Pan American Surfing Championships and will be awarded to the top 34 surfers at the event. Again, it does not specify which division this top 34 will be in.

The last edition of this event was held in El Salvador and the surfing competition took place at Punta Roca.