Flags, songs, hakas, and the Sands of the World ceremony – all the beloved traditions were upheld as the 2025 ISA World Surfing Games opened in Surf City El Salvador on Friday, 5 September.
Athletes from 61 nations are competing in the event, which runs from 5 to 14 September, with 22 Olympians among the almost 300 participants.
For last year’s bronze medallist Kauli Vaast, these are the first World Surfing Games where he comes in as a reigning Olympic champion and captain of Team France. And the 23-year-old is setting fittingly high goals for the competition: a gold medal for the team after two back-to-back Games where they finished with runner-up status.
“I’m the captain of the team now and it’s really important for me,” Vaast told Olympics.com. “I have pressure now to do good, so I’m going to try to be the best captain … I want to push the team as far as we can. That’s the goal.”
Vaast is also eager to backup his Olympic triumph by adding more victories to his name – especially on waves like El Salvador’s El Sunzal and La Bocana, which are starkly different from the barrels and shallow reef at his home surf in Teahupo’o.
El Sunzal is a righthand point break, while La Bocana is a powerful left-breaking wave with some waves that go to the right as well.
“I have more pressure because now I’m an Olympic champ and I need to prove that it was not just a lucky contest,” he said. “I’m trying to show that I’m able to do what I love, especially surfing big waves, big barrels, and also try to do good on small, hard conditions.”