Saint Lucian surfers mark historic debut at ISA World Junior Championship

Saint Lucia: History has been created in Saint Lucia by the two male athletes who represented their island at the International Surfing Association’s World Junior Championship in December 2025.

The event took place in 2025 between December 5 to 14, at Punta Rocas, Peru, where both the athletes identified as Sebastián Russel Rambally-Ambler and Daniel Frank Rambally-Ambler, joined the world’s best Under-18 surfers.

The students of St Mary’s College, who first ever carried their nation's flag at ISA competition were among the four countries including Angola, India and Slovenia, who were debuting at this level.

Both the surfers joined the competition but did not win any medal, however they marked the milestone for the nation as a historic and successful breakthrough moment for the sport of surfing.

The results of the competition were modest but still both the teens described their participation as memorable, motivational and historic, while encouraging more people to participate in the competitions without the fear of loss.

In an interview, 16-year-old Sebastián, stated that “I know we did not win any medal this time, and I also know that participation is not just about winning, it's about learning, getting motivated, keep pushing yourself and become better.”

“After going to that championship, I realised that I need to work hard as I discovered my skills are not that good as compared to others, so I will practise more and will surely improve my skills.”

He further stated that “for now I am practicing more to polish myself and my skills but my future goal is to improve my art and be able to take part in more competitions and to become more popular in Saint Lucia.”

14-year-old Daniel Frank also shared his experience as he stated that “I had a great time there while participating for the first time in a surfing competition.”

“We brothers are in Canaries right now, and we really want to open a development programme where we can teach other individuals, especially youth about surfing because right now we are the only ones who are doing this and we want everyone in our country to participate in more competitions."

Shaid Rambally, the president of the local surfing federation and one of the sport’s lead coaches also shared his opinion on the surfing as he said that "I need the drive to do something big in the people of our country, as i noticed many children go to the beached and try to surf, without hab-ving any proper surfing board and teaching.”

“But now the government is helping us to grow more in this field as the Saint Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association (SLHTA), extended their helping hands towards the nation and people so that they can participate in more competitions with good products.”

“They are also backing the teams including the women teams involvement in the forthcoming surfing events and competitions.”

Lastly, they expressed gratitude to the people who visited the island and continue to donate to the Tourism Enhancement Fund, which helped them to invest in the people and communities who also want to follow their passion and dreams.