USA Surfing names 2018 ISA World Junior Surf Championship Training Team

The team will train at BSR Surf Resort’s Waco, TX wave pool

San Clemente, California – (June 26, 2018) USA Surfing announced its 16-member 2018 World Junior Surf Championship Training Team – the team that will compete internationally and defend USA Surfing’s world title. Making this elite team took on extra excitement when the team learned they will be training for international competition at BSR Surf Resort’s, American Wave Machines PerfectSwell®  wave pool in Waco, Texas in August.  
 
USA Surfing head coach Joey Buran said the wave pool offers optimal training conditions to prepare the team for challenging international competition and beach break conditions at the 2018 International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championship held in Huntington Beach Oct. 27 – Nov. 4. BSR Surf Resort’s, American Wave Machines PerfectSwell®  wave pool is the official wave pool for training the 2018 World Junior Championship Surf Team and the team selected to compete at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, when surfing makes its Olympic debut.
 
The team (listed below) is comprised of 16 of the highest-performing surfers across the nation - eight girls and eight boys, who will come together once a month for the next 4 months to prepare for the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship. The Waco wave pool training session will be in August – just a few months before championships. 
 
“BSR Surf Resort's wave pool is ideal for honing maneuvers and aerial skills,” Buran said. “We are Team USA and our goal for this year's 2018 ISA World Junior Surfing Championship Team is to have our best and be at our best when we compete against the world's best in Huntington Beach in October and again in at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.” 
 
USA Surfing head coach Joey Buran said his junior national team is beyond stoked to be training in Waco at the same wave pool the 2020 Olympic surfing hopefuls will be training. Many of the junior team athletes are strong prospects for USA Olympic teams in 2024, 2028 and beyond.
 
USA Surfing’s World Junior Surf Team won gold in 2017 in Hyuga, Japan, where 306 surfers competed from a record-breaking 41 nations across all continents of the globe. Both the October 2018 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach and the 2020 Olympic Games at Tsurigasaki Beach in Chiba Japan will feature beach break conditions.
 
The 16-member World Junior Surf Team will train and be narrowed to a final roster of 12 athletes who will surf for Team USA at the 2018 International Surfing Association (ISA) World Championships. The four athletes not selected will be Team USA alternates.
 
Buran says a series of training sessions, including BSR Surf Resort, will give the athletes opportunities to learn and rise to meet challenges under pressure. “We will get a chance to defend our title with a blockbuster team,” Buran said. “This will be without a doubt one of the greatest experiences of their surfing career and life.”  
 
World Junior Championship Training Team 
Boys 
Cole Houshmand, San Clemente, CA
Crosby Colapinto, San Clemente, CA
Kade Matson, San Clemente, CA
Taro Watanabe, Malibu, CA
Levi Slawson, Encinitas, CA
Jett Schilling, San Clemente, CA
Taj Lindblad, San Clemente, CA
Owen Moss, Wilmington, NC
 
Girls 
Kirra Pinkerton, San Clemente, CA
Alyssa Spencer, La Jolla, CA
Samantha Sibley, San Clemente, CA
Caitlin Simmers, Oceanside, CA
Sawyer Lindblad, San Clemente, CA
Zoe Benedetto, Palm City, FL
Makena Burke, Ventura, CA
Olivia Pessanha, San Diego, CA
 
USA Surfing has three levels for its USA Junior Teams: developmental, junior national and ISA world juniors training team. Each level creates a progressive path to perform at elite levels and potentially qualify for future Olympic Games. USA Surfing's 2018 World Surfing Games elite 6-member team was the youngest team at the Tahara, Japan competition and clinched a bronze medal. Selection to national USA Surfing teams brings athletes into an elite program with year-round high-performance training and skill development. 
 
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 Committee (USOC). 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 compete in the 2019 Pan American Games.