2019 Vissla ISA World Junior Surfing Championship Team Named

San Clemente, Calif. (September 24, 2019) – USA Surfing named a star-studded, 12-athlete team to take on the world’s best junior surfers at the Vissla International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Championship held in Huntington Beach Oct. 26- Nov. 3, 2019.  
 
Head junior team coach Brett Simpson selected the most competitive team possible to compete against the world’s top surfers on our home beach in Surf City, USA. The team consists of some fresh talent and rising stars flaring up on the QS, Prime Series and USA Championships at Lowers. “I’m really excited about our team,” Simpson said. “We’ve got some veterans mixed with some really young talent. These are long events with a lot of heats and learning along the way!”
 
The World Junior Surfing Championship is the largest junior surfing competition in the world, bringing together hundreds of surfers from more than 40 nations. USA Surfing’s team won team silver in 2018 in Huntington Beach and gold in 2017 in Hyuga, Japan. 
 
Surfing for your country and carrying the flag in the Opening Ceremony Parade of Nations takes on extra meaning with surfing making its Olympic debut in 2020. This 2019 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship team potentially includes 2024 and 2028 Olympians. 
 
The 2019 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship team members are: 
Girls U18
Alyssa Spencer, Carlsbad, Calif. 
Kirra Pinkerton, San Clemente, Calif.  
Samantha Sibley, San Clemente, Calif.
 
Girls U16
Caitlin Simmers, Oceanside, Calif. 
Sawyer Lindblad, San Clemente, Calif.  
Zoe Benedetto, Palm City, Fla. 
 
Boys U18
Dimitri Poulos, Ventura, Calif. 
Tommy Coleman, Vero Beach, Fla. 
Taro Watanabe, Malibu, Calif. 
 
Boys U16
Nico Coli, San Clemente, Calif. 
Ryan Huckabee, Flagler Beach, Fla. 
Taj Lindblad, San Clemente, Calif.

 
Contact: Becky Fleischauer, 302-588-0671, becky (at) usasurfing (dot) org
USA Surfing is the National Governing Body for surfing in the United States, recognized by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USA Surfing’s mission is to promote and grow the sport of surfing and support United States athletes of all backgrounds to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American competition. USA Surfing will oversee and support America’s Olympic team as surfing makes its debut in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and surfing and stand-up paddleboarding athletes competed in the 2019 Pan American Games.