With Only Six Weeks to Go, El Salvador confirmed as 2025 ISA SUP & Paddleboard Worlds Host

For the past 9 months, one question has followed me everywhere in the SUP racing community: “Do you know where and when the 2025 ISA World Championship will be?” Rumors came and went – first Peru in December, more recently whispers of a late November slot in Oceanside, California. After much speculation, the suspense is finally over: the International Surfing Association (ISA) has just confirmed that the 2025 ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship will take place in Surf City El Salvador, November 10–15.

The announcement, however, comes barely six weeks before the event, raising natural questions about timing, preparation, money and logistics for athletes and federations. More intriguingly, the dates directly overlap with the European Surfing Federation’s European SUP League (ESL) event on the last stop of the 2025 inaugural circuit in Sesimbra, Portugal – a surprising clash when one might expect closer alignment between the two official Surfing bodies.

That said, El Salvador has repeatedly proven itself as a world-class surfing and SUP destination, having hosted the WSUPPC in 2019 along with no fewer than eight other ISA events over the past five years. The good news is that SUP surf appears to be back on the program—though not explicitly stated, the ISA press release features a photo of SUP surfer Ben Carpentier—after its absence from last year’s World Championship in Denmark.

It is fair to say the ISA has never failed to deliver a spectacular SUP & Paddleboard World Championship, consistently showcasing top-level competition and media coverage. Now, all eyes turn to the athletes, national federations, and the broader SUP race community to see how they respond to this late-but-exciting announcement.

With that, here is the ISA’s official announcement:

2025 ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Championship Will be Hosted by Surf City El Salvador
ISA Reinforces Commitment to Stand-Up Paddle and Paddleboard Disciplines
Competition will take place November 10–15

Cardiff, California, USA – September 29, 2025

The International Surfing Association (ISA) has announced that Surf City El Salvador will host the 2025 ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship (WSUPPC), scheduled for November 10–15, 2025.

This will be the 12th edition of the ISA WSUPPC, following France (2023) and Denmark (2024). Since its inception in 2012, the annual championship has crowned the sport’s undisputed World Champions and reinforced the ISA’s commitment to showcasing SUP and paddleboard at the highest level.

It will also be the second time Surf City El Salvador hosts the WSUPPC, after a successful edition in 2019, and the 11th ISA World Championship overall staged in the country. The decision highlights El Salvador’s emergence as a global hub for surfing and paddle sports.

ISA President, Fernando Aguerre, said:
“The ISA is very excited to bring the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship back to Surf City El Salvador. The 2019 edition was the beginning of an incredible partnership. Since then, El Salvador has proven itself again and again as a world-class host of our global championships. With our friends at Surf City El Salvador, the ISA reaffirms its commitment to growing SUP and Paddleboard worldwide, creating opportunities for athletes, and continuing our efforts to elevate this discipline at every level, including the Olympic pathway.”

El Salvador Minister of Tourism, Morena Valdez, added:
“Since our first World Championship with the ISA in 2019, El Salvador has developed tourism through surfing, transforming the lives of Salvadorans and positioning itself as a safe destination in the world, with services and infrastructure that meet international standards, all accompanied by the warmth of our people. We are convinced that this World Championship will continue contributing to the local economy and opening doors to new markets around the world so that more and more people come to visit, invest, and live in El Salvador.”