The surfers came from beaches near and far, waving their country flags with pride as they headed toward the famed Huntington Beach Pier, where for six days they will battle in the waves.
Nearly 200 adaptive surfers from 30 countries joined the Parade of Nations down Main Street on Sunday, Nov. 5, for the International Surfing Association’s World Para Surfing Championship, an Olympic-style event being held for the first time in Surf City.
The competition runs through Nov. 11, with the surf action starting at 7 a.m. Monday, Nov. 6, on the south side of the pier.
“If you look at these athletes, some of them blind or who have lost several limbs, competing at a world-class level in a world-class competition, it’s something to behold in person here in Huntington Beach,” said Kelly Miller, CEO of Visit Huntington Beach.
The event is not only a historic moment for the city’s rich surf history, but also marks a record number of participants, Miller said.
The 2023 World Para Surfing Championship is the eighth major ISA event held in Surf City, with the city hosting four ISA World Surfing Games –1984, 1996, 2006 and 2022 – as well as the ISA World Juniors in 2005, 2018 and 2019.
The Parade of Nations drew spectators and supporters who cheered on the athletes, and there was a sand ceremony at Pier Plaza where athletes poured sand they brought from their home countries into one large clear jar, signifying unity through surfing.
Team USA boasts several Southern California surfers, including Jacob Pacheco, who lives in Long Beach but calls Huntington Beach his home break.
Life Rolls On founder Jesse Billauer, from Pacific Palisades, will be going for another world championship. Billauer, a pro surfer who was paralyzed during a surf accident as a teenager, was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame last summer just across from the pier in front of Jack’s Surfboards.
San Diego has several adaptive athletes in the event, including past world champions…
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