ISA Archives - New Zealand Surf Journal

Watch: The Impossible Wave

Taira BlakelyJul 19, 2024July 25, 20240

Thirty years ago, ISA president Fernando Aguerre dreamed that surfing might one day be included in the Olympic Games. No one could have predicted how challenging that pursuit would be. The Impossible Wave follows Fernando Aguerre’s improbable mission to push surfing into the Olympic spotlight. After 27 years and 12,000 hours...

Billie Scott Wins Bronze At ISA World SUP Champs

Isaac ChadwickSep 29, 2023October 25, 20230

Mount Maunganui-based Billie Scott has just come away with a record-equaling third place finish at the 2023 ISA World SUP & Paddleboarding Championship amidst a stacked field. NZSJ’s Isaac Chadwick caught up with her to see how she was feeling after a whirlwind few days. It was a tough road...

New Appointments To IOC Weave Surfing Into Olympic Future

Derek MorrisonOct 9, 2022November 29, 20220

International Surfing Association President, Fernando Aguerre, and former world number one surfer, Sally Fitzgibbons, have been appointed to International Olympic Committee Commissions for 2022. The inclusion of two leading surfing figures in the latest IOC Commissions highlights the positive and growing role of surfing within the Olympic Movement. Within the...

NZSJ Podcast: Paige Hareb And Saffi Vette In MIQ

Derek MorrisonJun 24, 2021July 25, 20240

New Zealand Surf Journal releases Episode 1 of its Good Salt podcast series with an in-depth chat with Paige Hareb and Saffi Vette as they endure MIQ in Auckland. Fresh back from the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador we discuss the Olympic dream, Tokyo 2020’s waves, and we...

Paige Hareb Narrowly Misses Olympic Qualification

Derek MorrisonJun 8, 2021July 25, 20240

It was an agonising conclusion to the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games for Paige Hareb when the Taranaki star missed Olympic qualification by the narrowest of margins in El Salvador. New Zealand’s hopes of a third surfer at this year’s Olympics rested on Paige Hareb in the early hours of...

Paige Shines At ISA Worlds, Olympic Qualification One Step Away

Derek MorrisonJun 4, 2021July 25, 20240

A huge turn that saw Paige Hareb free fall out of the lip on a huge left at La Bocana, El Salvador, was enough to catapult her into the Final 8 in the main group at the ISA World Surfing Games. She is now just one heat shy of Olympic...

Saffi Vette’s Olympic Campaign Comes To An End

Derek MorrisonJun 4, 2021July 25, 20240

Nineteen-year-old Gisborne surf star, Saffi Vette, has ended her run to the Tokyo Olympics this morning, falling in solid, challenging conditions in El Salvador. Surfing in the 4th heat of Repechage 5, Saffi and fellow WQS campaigner Ellie Turner, from Great Britain, were bettered by Carolina Mendes, of Portugal, and...

Stairmand Eighth, New Zealand Seventh At World Surfing Games

Derek MorrisonSep 16, 2019October 8, 20190

Billy Stairmand finishes in eighth place at the ISA World Surfing Games presented by Vans completed in Japan yesterday, New Zealand’s best ever result at the event. Stairmand’s performance advanced the New Zealand Team to a seventh overall finish. Staged in Miyazaki, Japan, from September 7-15, the New Zealand team...

Stairmand On Rampage At World Surfing Games, Qualifies For Olympics

Derek MorrisonSep 14, 2019December 12, 20220

Raglan’s Billy Stairmand has maintained his blistering form at the ISA World Surfing Games in Japan today. His run saw him secure the Oceania qualification slot on Friday. Today he blazed through Repechage heats to put himself into the frame for gold when the event resumes tomorrow. Stairmand will surf...

Ella Williams Secures Oceania Slot For Tokyo 2020

Derek MorrisonSep 10, 2019November 27, 20190

Kiwi surfer Ella Williams has provisionally qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics securing the Oceania slot after placing the highest of the Oceania surfers at the ISA World Surfing Games presented by Vans yesterday. Williams will be part of an exclusive group of twenty female surfers from around the world...