This week, the flag of Saint Lucia is raised high at one of global surfing’s most prestigious youth events, as three local athletes take on the world’s best junior surfers at the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Championships hosted in Surf City, El Salvador.
All three competitors hail from Saint Lucia’s Marigot Bay, bringing with them years of local training and international competitive experience. Team captain Sebastian Ambler is scheduled to compete in the Boys Under-18 division, while his younger sibling Daniel Ambler will pull double duty, competing across both the Boys Under-16 and Boys Under-18 categories. Rounding out the small but determined national delegation is William Verity, who will also join Sebastian in the Under-18 draw.
In recent years, surfing in Saint Lucia has grown from a niche coastal pastime to a developing organized sport, with the South Castries region emerging as the nation’s core surfing hub. The Saint Lucia Surfing National Federation has worked to expand access to the sport beyond this core center, rolling out community training programs in coastal towns including Laborie, Anse La Raye and Canaries. As part of these outreach efforts, the federation has donated new surfing gear and equipment to remove barriers for young people interested in picking up the sport, laying the groundwork for future generations of national competitors.
Unlike first-time junior competitors, Sebastian, Daniel and William all arrive in El Salvador with prior international competition under their belts, a advantage that has given the team steady confidence heading into the event. The trio acknowledges that the field at the world championships will be one of the toughest they have ever faced, but they have framed the competition as an exciting opportunity to test their skills against the sport’s rising young stars from across the globe.
Federation officials note that the Saint Lucian team has put in 12 months of dedicated preparation to peak for this event, traveling far beyond their home waters to train in diverse wave conditions. A recent training camp in California allowed the surfers to adjust to powerful new swells, and the team also completed preparation blocks in Barbados, Martinique and Costa Rica, adapting to different water and weather conditions to refine their competitive techniques and build versatility.
The championship’s official opening ceremony is set to take place at La Bocana, with round-the-clock competition running through to the final medal events on September 13.