Team South Africa Heads to El Salvador for World Junior Surfing Championships

Photo Credit: Surfing SA Facebook

South Africa’s junior surfing team has touched down in El Salvador, carrying the hopes of their families, coaches and the wider surfing community.

El Salvador (08 September 2026) – The boards are packed, the South African colours are on, and Team South Africa is officially on its way to El Salvador.

Members of the 2026 South African Junior Surfing Team have left Cape Town International Airport and are heading to Surf City, where they will compete at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships from 4 to 13 September.

And while the team has travelled thousands of kilometres to get there, the preparation started long before anyone stepped onto a plane.

The young surfers have spent months working through national selection, high-performance camps, physical testing, heat drills, mental preparation and plenty of time in the water.

Their final preparations included a High Performance Camp in East London, where the focus shifted towards what they can expect once competition gets underway.

That meant simulated heats, competition scenarios and plenty of tactical work, with the athletes getting to grips with the conditions at the championship venues, including La Bocana and El Sunzal.

For these young surfers, the World Junior Surfing Championships are an opportunity to pull on the Protea and represent South Africa on one of the biggest stages of their young careers.

The team is travelling with an experienced management group, led by Team Manager Penny Stemmet and coaches Greg Emslie and Llewellyn Whittaker.

There was also a special moment before the team even reached El Salvador, as the athletes and management gathered at the opening function in their South African colours.

Looking smart is one thing, but there’s a bigger reason those colours matter.

Surfing South Africa General Manager Danielle Powis said watching the team leave was an emotional moment after everything that had gone into preparing for the trip.

“There is something incredibly special about watching a group of young athletes walk through those gates wearing South African colours and knowing that they are about to represent their country on the other side of the world. So much work, sacrifice and support from so many people has gone into getting them to this moment.”

And that support deserves its own spotlight.

Behind every athlete boarding that flight are parents getting up early for training, coaches putting in the hours, families travelling to competitions, money spent getting athletes where they need to be and plenty of encouragement after the tough days.

The team will soon trade airport lounges for surf breaks and training sessions for World Championship heats.

And when those South African colours hit the water, they remind their athletes to surf with courage, back each other and make every wave count.