The ISA has released the qualification criteria for Los Angeles 2028, the most significant change being that the quota per country has been increased to three, with no additional prize for the reigning champion nation, but rather as a general rule. Any country that secures three surfers will automatically qualify, regardless of their results at the World Surfing Games.

However, the leaked information remained: A maximum of five women and five men will go to LA 2028 through the CT with a limit of one per country, and it will be the top-tier event for qualification.

Then, in second place is the 2028 World Surfing Games, which will qualify 10 male and 10 female surfers, also with a maximum of one per country.

This brings the total to 15 qualifiers.

Then come the regional rankings, which differ in that they focus on regional tournaments. This was already done with the Pan American Games, but not with the Asian or European Games.

Finally, the regional slots for Oceania and Africa will be determined by the World Surfing Games 2027, which are presumed with a high degree of certainty to be held in El Salvador.

Athletes from these countries must place in the top 25 to qualify; otherwise, the next eligible athlete in the event with the highest ranking will qualify.

This brings the total to 20 qualifiers.

The next step involves determining the 21st and 22nd spots, which will be filled by the winning teams in each gender category at the 2026 and 2027 ISA World Surfing Games. These will be the only two spots awarded at the discretion of the national federation; one woman and one man for each of these world championships. In total, four surfers will be selected by their country's federation based on the slot they have earned.

Finally, one slot goes to the host nation, in case none qualify (hard to imagine) and another for universality, requiring that those who apply achieve a top 40 ranking.

As detailed in the statement, it continues below:

Key elements of the Classification System
Forty-eight (48) athletes in total: 24 men and 24 women.

Maximum of three (3) surfers per gender per CON.

Qualifying places are obtained individually, except for team places at the 2026 and 2027 ISA WSG, which are awarded to the NOC based on the highest-placed teams by gender at those events.

Hierarchical order of classification:

In cases where a place cannot be used due to eligibility limits, NOC quotas, or a lack of qualified athletes, it will be reassigned to the next highest-ranked eligible surfer, primarily through the ISA WSG 2028.

1. 2028 WSL CT (10 athletes in total)
The five (5) highest ranked eligible athletes by gender as of mid-June 2028. Maximum one (1) per nation.

2. 2028 ISA WSG
The ten (10) highest-ranked eligible athletes by gender. Maximum one (1) per nation.

3. Continental Places
a. Asian Games 2026
One (1) spot per gender. Highest ranked eligible athletes.

b. Pan American Games 2027
One (1) spot per gender. Highest ranked eligible athletes.

c. European Surfing Championship 2027
One (1) spot per gender. Highest ranked eligible athletes.

d. ISA WSG 2027
One (1) slot per gender for Africa and one (1) slot per gender for Oceania, awarded to the highest-ranked eligible athletes. The athlete must be ranked within the overall top 25.

4. ISA WSG 2026 and 2027
The highest-ranked team by gender will receive one (1) gender slot for their nation.

5. Host country slots
One (1) place per gender will be guaranteed to the host country, the United States, unless it has already been obtained through the above hierarchies.

6. Universality Places
One (1) slot per gender for developing nations. Eligible NOCs must apply. The nominated athlete must be ranked within the top 40 at the 2027 or 2028 WSG.