A record 118 athletes, representing 33 nations, are set to compete at the first edition of the event since Biarritz 2019 and were gathered at the curtain-raiser.

The flags of four national teams appeared for the first time at the Opening Ceremony, with American Samoa, Guam, Iran, and Morocco all due to make their debuts.

A member from each competing country poured sand from their local beach into a single container for the Sands of the World Ceremony which is "a symbol of the peaceful gathering of nations of the world through surfing".

"Longboarding, one of the oldest surfing disciplines, going back to the 19th century, is still alive and very well and healthy," said ISA President Fernando Aguerre.

"The quality and amount of incredible competitors this week will prove that to everybody. 

"The ISA has asked the International Olympic Committee for the inclusion of Longboarding in the 2028 LA Olympic Games, following the success of Tokyo and the very strong performance that surfing will have in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

"These are wonderful times to be a surfer.

"But being a surfer means that we need to be ambassadors of the oceans, to look after the environment, to be good mentors and to take care of everything that surrounds us.

"President Nayib Bukele, [Tourism] Minister Morena Valdez and all the El Salvador government and staff and the people of El Salvador, thank you for opening your hearts to all of us.

"We really appreciate how you have transformed El Salvador, this wonderful surf destination and this country that is serving as a wonderful example to many other places in the world."

The National Dance Company of El Salvador provided a cultural performance to welcome the athletes on what was its 15^th anniversary.

El Salvador has now hosted four major ISA events in the past five years including the 2019 World Stand-up Paddle and Paddleboard World Championships, followed by the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games and the 2022 ISA World Junior Surfing Championships.

"Welcome to Surf City El Salvador, the home of the right surf!" said Valdez. 

"Thanks to the support of President Bukele, we have shown that surfing is now the number one sport in El Salvador.

"With the success of these Championships and past ISA events, we have seen how important this has been for all the communities involved."

The Championships are set to run until May 13 and will see gold medallists crowned in a men's and a women's event.

It is serving as a qualifying event for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games as well as the Association of National Olympic Committees World Beach Games in Bali later this year.