Special coverage presented by Surf City El Salvador y El Salvador Travel 

Cover photo: The ever-photogenic Sunzal, by ISA/Reed

The countdown to the Surf City El Salvador ISA World Junior Surfing Championship has begun and the excitement is on. Social media has already been filled with images of young people who have already traveled to the Central American country to begin training for what will be the historic return of a junior world championship.

There are several points to be highlighted about the upcoming tournament, five of which are detailed below:

1: Hunger for world championship

Between October 26 and November 3, 2019, the world's junior surfers had their last world championship in Huntington Beach, California. Until now, 908 days have passed, almost 30 months, two and a half years without a world champion being defined; without the best on the planet facing each other in a world championship.

This leads to the fact that the most eager surfers on the planet, with all the strength of youth, are with a huge hunger for championships, to show talent, to stand out in the most competitive youth championship on the planet.

2: Hunger leads to record numbers of registrants to be expected

Every surfing nation on the planet has either presented a team or has stated that they will travel to El Salvador to compete. Considering that the full teams are made up of 12 juniors (3 under 18 and 3 under 16 per gender) and that in the previous edition 343 from 44 countries participated, it is easy to expect that the record will be surpassed. A world championship with more than 500 juniors? From more than 50 countries?

It is very probable.

3: El Sunzal and La Bocana: Perfect setting for an event with two podiums

Considering what was said in point 2 of this article, the expected number of surfers will make it very necessary to use the two announced podiums: La Bocana and El Sunzal. Two perfect waves for two-podium tournaments because although they are very different, both maintain the quality so that the opportunities are equal for all surfers.

La Bocana: A powerful and perfect left and right, many have called it the Lowers of Central America.

El Sunzal: A perfect, long right-hander. While Owen Wright told DUKE last year during the World Surfing Games that it's very similar to Bells Beach, there are many people who prefer to call it the Malibu of Central America.

These two waves are separated by a walk of about a thousand meters, maybe less, they receive the same direction of swells and guarantee that the best young people on the planet have a good stage to determine a champion.
The big question is: In which of the two waves will the event director choose to hold the finals?

4: The thermometer of who will be the next top players of the world tour and the Olympic Games

Gabriel Medina (BRA), Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Jordy Smith (RSA), Courtney Conlogue (USA), Filipe Toledo (BRA), Caroline Marks (USA), Julian Wilson (AUS), Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Owen Wright (AUS), Tyler Wright (AUS), Laura Enever (AUS), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), and Brisa Hennessy (CRC) are some of the surfers who have won this event as teenagers in past editions.

A good strategy to get ahead of the future and put together the 2024 Fantasy Surfer is to follow this championship closely.

5: A month in which El Salvador will be the epicenter of world surfing

It has become customary for El Salvador to host world championships; in 2019 the SUP championship, in 2021 the last qualifier for Tokyo 2020, the ISA World Surfing Games... But for 2022 the country doubled its bet: In addition to having the largest ISA world championship, it also hosted the seventh stage of the WSL world tour.

The Junior World Championship will take place from May 27 to June 5 in La Bocana and El Sunzal, followed by the Surf City El Salvador Pro from June 12 to 20 in Punta Roca.

Just comparing the movement caused by the 2021 World Cup in El Salvador and imagining what has already begun, with the pandemic somewhat more under control, the impact of this year's surfing tourism will be huge.