Sally Fitzgibbons at the World Surfing Games. Photo: ISA
Sally Fitzgibbons has entered the race for the International Surfing Association’s (ISA) upcoming vice presidential elections. According to an internal communication obtained by the Spanish-language outlet Duke Surf, Fitzgibbons will be one of four candidates vying for two open vice president positions when the national federations vote on December 10.
Fitzgibbons, a 15-year WSL Championship Tour veteran and four-time ISA gold medalist, will be running against the incumbent vice president, Karin Sierralta of Peru, Johnny Bakker of South Africa, and Omar Seye of Senegal.
The ISA’s executive committee is comprised of the president, Fernando Aguerre, four vice presidents, two regular members, the Chair of the ISA Athletes Commission Justine Dupont, and the executive director Robert Fasulo. The two current vice presidents whose terms are not up are Jean-Luc Arassus of France and Barbara Kendall of New Zealand. The other vice president whose term is up, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, is not running for re-election.
Fitzgibbons will also be running for the open regular member position, which has four other candidates: Bakker, the incumbent Kimifumi Imoto of Japan, Junya Oishi of Japan, and Joe Wilson of American Samoa.
ISA vice president responsibilities include signing off on major decisions, such as bringing on new member nations and choosing locations to run world championships. Aside from her impressive competition pedigree, Fitzgibbons’ presence on the committee could play a strategic role heading towards the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia.
