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  The setup at the beach. Photo by Munoz for ISA.

Two important surfing contests recently wrapped up in China.

 

We asked International Surfing Association President Fernando Aguerre some questions about the event and how it may help the development of surfing in China.

 

What were some of the highlights of the events in China?

The event, the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival, presented by Quiksilver, is the name of the event, and includes two contests, both full of love for the sport.

 

Chris Ward. Photo by Watts for ISA.

The top eight surfing nations surfed in the inaugural ISA CHINA CUP, and the pro surfers from 19 countries surfed in the Hainan Classic, a 4-star ASP event, with $95,000 in prize money. For the first time in history, ISA and ASP events ran back to back.

 

The winners were the surfers, who were able to compete defending their national colors and the next day, surf for ASP points and $95,000 in prize money. A true win/win for the athletes, all of who expressed their satisfaction and hopes that the event will be back in 2013.

 

What kind of coverage did it get in the Chinese media?

Totally mind blowing. From dozens of huge highway billboards in Hainan Island (the “Hawaii of China”) to daily TV highlights in CCTV, the national TV network of China that reaches 800 million people.

 

This could very likely be the surfing event with the highest TV audience in the history of the sport. There were national and regional newspapers and TV at the event all day long, all week long, interviewing surfers from around the world, and even covering the very first male Chinese surfers competing in an ASP event in history.

 

Were there a lot of spectators?

The beach was packed at certain times of the day. You must remember that while Hainan Island (8.5 million inhabitants) is China’s number one beach tourism destination, our event was held in an area away from the big cities – kind of like the North Shore of Hawaii. But as with many top surfing events in the world, the largest amount of spectators were online (webcast was in Chinese, English and Spanish, in true ISA international spirit), or saw it on the daily highlights of CCTV and Hainan TV.

 

What is the state of surfing in China? Do you think this event will have an impact, and if so, how? 

Surfing in China is like a toddler that is just doing its first steps due to our event. There is not a strong beach culture in China, and there are probably less than 200 surfers in a country with 1.3 billion people.

 

As a lover of the beach and surfing culture and its impact in youth culture around the world, I’m confident that the Chinese will also fall in love with surfing and the enjoyments of wave riding and just hanging out at the beach.

 

The Chinese have a very strong commitment to working and duty. As we know, surfing offers a much-needed break from the day-to-day stress of modern life. As China’s economic growth continues to expand, a larger middle class with desires for sport, travel and leisure time will surely find in surfing a fun activity, not just good for their bodies, but also for their souls.

 

The Americas, Europe, and parts of Africa and the Pacific Rim have enjoyed our lifestyle for decades. Now is the turn for the Chinese to discover surfing.

 

See Page 2 for what happens next, more

 

 

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What happens now? What are next steps for the ISA there? 

We have a long-term agreement with our Chinese partners, to produce this as a yearly event. During my stay there, Chinese officials from the local, provincial and national government confirmed their commitment to bring the event back next year.

 

I’m sure this event included the best ever opening ceremony in the history of the ISA, and probably in the history of the sport. A president of a visiting national team told me: “Fernando, this was the best ever opening ceremony… How do you improve on it?” My answer was: “By coming back in 2013!”

 

Any plans for India?

I like to treat each opportunity one at a time. While India is known for great waves, and plenty of tourism by the ocean, this event in China was made possible, by the ISA creating a very good working relationship with an organization able to get things done in a national and professional level, in a meaningful way. India is certainly on our horizon, waiting for the right time and partners to make it happen.

 

Any interesting logistical challenges to putting on a surf contest in China?

No, it was a piece of cake. Just kidding. There were plenty of challenges: a 16 hour time zone difference, linguistic and cultural differences, no history of organizing surfing contests in China, learning from them and with them.

 

From a personal point of view, I enjoyed learning about Chinese culture and social codes, from how and when to toast, the importance of hierarchies, and knowing how to speak slowly (for the translators) and in shorter sentences. We enjoyed great food and the Chinese’s well-known hospitality. All of us visitors felt comfortable and at home.

 

The biggest challenge once I started to work in this project, almost two years ago, was learning about their waves, winds, and best times of the year.

 

Fortunately for us, we hired Sean Collins and Surfline to visit Hainan and do an in-depth investigation. We knew this was the right place, and the right time for a world-class event. The only sad note was not having Sean around watching the event on the webcast.

 

We had a great and very heart touching paddle out in his memory, something that our Chinese friends have never seen before, full of flower leis, and water splashing in Sean’s memory. A very proper honoring for one of the nicest guys in our sport, who was super excited about surfing in China.