Ghana joins the International Surfing Association

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 20 December, 2010 : - - The International Surfing Association (ISA), the surfing world’s governing authority recognized by the International Olympic Committee, is proud to welcome Ghana to it list of member nations. The Ghana Surfing Association (GSA), led by President Charles Sampa, is now the country’s national governing body (NGB) of the sport.

“It is great to be recognized! We are happy to be part of the ISA family, and we are eager to compete against other African nations as well as internationally,” said Sampa. “We hope that competing with other will help us improve our surfing level.”

Regarding the sport in his country, GSA president said, “Ghana is a great place to surf! We have all different types of waves, beachbreaks, reefs, and point breaks. We are all still learning and practicing, the most experienced of us teach a lot of kids. Despite the fact that we do not have a lot of boards, we still manage to teach them and they like it a lot.”

Fernando Aguerre, President of the ISA, said about the newest member, “We are very happy to welcome Ghana to the surfing movement. Since there are few NGBs in Africa, the ISA is working hard to include more countries from that region. Africa’s abundance of perfect waves makes it a great destination for surfing; the sport there has everything it needs to be developed.

We look forward to the development of surfing in Ghana, along with the continent’s surfing leader, South Africa, as the cornerstones of Africa’s surfing development.” Located in Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d´Ivoire and Togo, Ghana has a coastline of over 500 km and receives swells primarily from the south. It has several beach and point breaks.

About the International Surfing Association: The International Surfing Association (ISA) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the World Governing Authority for Surfing. It was originally founded as the International Surfing Federation in 1964 and has been running Open Division World Championships since 1964, Junior World Championships since 1980, and Masters World Championships since 2007. The ISA will hold the first Stand Up Paddle (SUP) World Championship and the first World Bodyboard Championship in 2011.

ISA membership includes the surfing National Governing Bodies of 64 countries on five continents. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California. It is presided over by Fernando Aguerre (Argentina), first elected President in 1994 in Rio de Janeiro and re-elected seven times since. The ISA's three Vice-Presidents are Alan Atkins (Australia), Mike Gerard (USA) and Karín Sierralta (Peru).