Special coverage presented by Surf City El Salvador

Last Saturday, the president of the International Surfing Association, Fernando Aguerre, spoke for 54 minutes with DUKE in an interview that is part of the preview of the most important world championship in the history of the association that he heads.

Below we detail five key points from the interview we conducted with him:

Candidacy for a ninth re-election is very possible 

"I think I will run next year, yes, I'm not sure, but if everything continues like this, I suppose so," said Aguerre when asked if he sees himself as president at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where the surfing event will take place in Teahupoo, Tahiti.

This would be the ninth re-election for the Argentine, who was first elected in 1994 during the World Surfing Games held in Rio de Janeiro.

Referring to the length of his mandate, he reflected: “I am not going to say anything to the critics because they will always be critics… What did you do? Did you come to work, did you run? ISA elections are totally open. I have won elections with several candidates and others in which I was the only one who ran (...) The most important thing for me is that my hands are totally clear, open, because I never received a single dollar from the ISA. There have been all kinds of paid employees, but not Fernando Aguerre.”

He also said that if qualified candidates come forward, he would leave. “A good champion leaves before being knocked out of the ring,” he joked.   

On the new rule limiting re-elections 

Asked about the fact that during his mandate he created a rule that limits precisely what he did, allowing a president to be reelected for a maximum of two times, he said: “We believe that the time has come when a limit must be set and that it is reasonable to set limits. That is good. I tell you sincerely: I am not here because it is what I would not like to stop doing, I am here because I do it well, I like to do it and before me are all the fruits of all the seeds we planted.”

The ISA chose El Salvador for its World Cup because of “the solvency and credibility of the organizer”

The ISA chose El Salvador as the venue for this ISA World Championship due to the seriousness of the proposal: "We looked at several options and we chose it based on the solvency and credibility of the organizer. In 60 days, El Salvador created a world championship that turned out incredibly," said Aguerre, referring to the Stand Up Paddle Championship that took place in November 2019.

Other candidates that had been mentioned at the beginning of 2019 for the event were: Australia, Japan, Spain and Costa Rica.

The sadness of Tokyo 2020 without company

Aguerre regretted that he will go to Tokyo 2020 alone: ​​“I have worked all my life to make surfing an Olympic sport and it was a moment that I wanted to share with my family and friends,” he said, explaining that the rules establish that the authorities of the federations have to go alone due to biosecurity protocols that are necessary due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A possible injection of 3 or 4 million dollars for the ISA

New sports did not receive support from the International Olympic Committee, as traditional sports often do. That fund totals approximately $500 million.

Aguerre said that it is possible that in the future the fund will be reached, which would cost him some three or four million dollars. Asked what he would do with that money, he explained that he is interested in increasing his presence in the countries, guaranteeing the realization of the events even when there is no money from the organizing countries and also increasing the number of affiliated federations, which today are 108, he mentioned that 30 or 40 more will be added.

He also wants to increase the scholarships he annually provides to surfers from around the world with financial problems, who are good students and passionate surfers.