The ICF Ocean Racing World Championships or Surfski World Champs, is the biggest stage in our sport.
Since 2013, when the International Canoe Federation officially brought surfski paddling into the world championship family, this event has grown from strength to strength. What started as a championship every second year has now become an annual gathering of the world’s best ocean paddlers, hosted in some of the most iconic surfski locations on the planet. This year, it’s in a very special place: La Vila Joiosa, Spain.

La Vila Joiosa is a beautiful Mediterranean town near Alicante, on the Costa Blanca with its colourful old-town houses, beaches, marinas, fishing heritage, chocolate, warm water and classic European seaside charm. For paddlers this is a postcard destination with something extra: one of the true homes of European surfski.
The host club, Club Náutico La Vila Joiosa, is based right on the water’s edge in a stunning marina. Access to the ocean could not be easier. The paddling is fantastic. There are downwind options from both directions, both finishing right back at the marina. There is a beautiful island about six kilometres offshore to paddle around. And stretching north and south is the Costa Blanca coastline, just waiting to be explored from the seat of a surfski.
Surfski took root here around 2005 and 2006, and the locals grabbed it with both hands. With some help from South African paddlers, including myself, Dawid Mocke, and Jonathan Neill and Violetta Espi, La Vila Joiosa became one of the pioneering centres of surfski paddling in Spain. The first Eurochallenge Surfski was held here in 2008, and after 16 years of building that event into one of the most important races in Europe, it’s fitting that they host the World Championships.
This is a ‘MUST DO’ event to experience.

One thing I know: attending a World Champs can also be wildly overwhelming.
You arrive in a foreign country. There is the language barrier. There are race registration, ski collection, setup, event admin, course briefings, race schedules, changing conditions, and the usual pre-race chaos of everyone trying to get organised. You want to paddle the course, understand the lines, get your ski sorted, enjoy the venue, meet people, explore the town and still arrive on race day feeling fresh, calm and ready.

That is exactly why this trip exists. I have spent almost three decades travelling to international paddling events. I know what matters, what wastes energy, what needs to be sorted early, and how to make a race week feel like an experience rather than a mission. 

My goal is simple: for you to arrive, settle in, paddle well, enjoy the place, and experience the World Champs properly.
Your ski is arranged. Accommodation is sorted. Dinner, bed and breakfast are included. No self-catering admin. No hustling. No wondering where to go or what to do next. We will paddle the course, look at the conditions, talk through strategy, check the starts and finishes, and make sure you understand what the ocean might deliver on race day.

The event. Imagine 40 or 50 nations gathered in one place. Paddlers from Europe, Asia, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and beyond. Country colours. Opening ceremonies. The race village. The buzz. The stories. The old friends. The new friends. The best paddlers in the world. And you are part of it.

Aside from paddling, we will enjoy La Vila Joiosa, visit the old town, take in the marina, perhaps visit the famous Valor chocolate factory, explore Alicante, and maybe even add on trips to places like Benidorm, Denia or Valencia before or after the event.

This is World Champs race week done properly: great paddling, expert coaching, easy logistics, Mediterranean living, and the full experience of one of the biggest events in our sport.

Come on tour. Let’s go paddle Spain.