8/4/2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Zealand Team Ready to Compete at World Longboard Surfing Championship in El Salvador
April 25 – May 1, 2025
New Zealand will be sending a team of four surfers to compete at the 2025 World Longboard Surfing Championship (WLSC) in El Salvador from April 25 to May 1, 2025. The team, which qualified via the Surfing New Zealand National Team Qualification Policy, will represent New Zealand in both the Men’s and Women’s Longboard Divisions.
The Surfing New Zealand Longboard Team is as follows:
Men’s Longboard Division
- Jack Tyro (Christchurch)
- Oliver Janes (Auckland)
Women’s Longboard Division
- Gabi Paul (Piha)
- Hannah Kohn (Gisborne)
The World Longboard Surfing Championship, held in El Salvador’s Surf City, promises to be an exciting event, following a record-breaking 103 surfers from 32 nations at last year’s championship. The world-renowned El Sunzal point in El Salvador will serve as the ideal destination for the competition, offering the perfect conditions for longboard surfing.
Hannah Kohn, who has made the team again after competing last year, shared her excitement for the event: “Yeah, I’m stoked as! It’s an honour to get to represent NZ on the world stage again, and I had a lot of fun last year, so I’m looking forward to it. I am much more aware of how tricky the wave is now, so hopefully that awareness pays off. With such a tight turnaround, I haven’t had time to do any proper preparation, but I’ve had a couple of competitions recently, like the Single Fin Mingle, and the West End Wiggle is coming up, which are great for prepping. Three weeks doesn’t quite cut it for fitness, but I’m excited to give it my best!”
In addition to Kohn, Gabi Paul is looking forward to returning to El Salvador. She commented, “I am definitely stoked to be in the team again. It will be great to return to El Salvador as it’s familiar territory now, and it feels good to have an idea of what to expect. It’s awesome to have Hannah on the team again too! For training, I’ve been trying to surf as much as I can, though the conditions at the Mount have been a bit flat recently, so I’ve been substituting with other exercise. It’s great to have the Single Fin Mingle and West End Wiggle events as warm-ups before we head over. I can’t wait to head over, surf in warm water, and hopefully improve on our team result from last year!”
The men’s division will see first-time team member Oliver Janes representing New Zealand. He shared his excitement about the opportunity: “This is my first time making the NZ team, and I’m so stoked to be heading over in a few weeks! I’ve never been to El Salvador before, and I’m really looking forward to surfing a new right-hand break. I’m in Noosa at the moment training on the points and in the gym, focusing on bigger, more powerful waves to prepare for the right-hander at El Sunzal. I can’t wait to compete!”
New Zealand has placed 17th in the last two ISA World Longboard events, and the team is eager to improve on that result in 2025. The competition will be intense, and New Zealand’s surfers are determined to make their mark.
The ISA will be providing live streaming coverage of the event through their website, allowing fans from around the world to follow the action in real time. Complete event updates, results, surfer ratings, and images will also be available on Surfing New Zealand’s website, as well as the ISA website.
We wish all of our surfers the best of luck as they represent New Zealand on the world stage.
Complete event write-ups, results, surfer ratings and images from the event can be viewed at Surfing New Zealand. And the ISA Website
Information
For more information please contact Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz.
Imagery
Web clips and newsfeeds will be distributed free of charge from the event. Please contact the ISA for further details.
High-resolution images will be available to media upon request. Images will be distributed free of charge.
Follow Surfing New Zealand
Keep in touch with all the surfing info from around the country by following Surfing New Zealand’s social media networks – @SurfingNZ. @ISA
Event Details
The draw and results can be viewed at www.ISA.com
Surfing New Zealand is proudly partnered by:
Sport NZ
ACC
NZ Community Trust
Sun Bum
OSM
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