The biggest event in Pan American surfing is on at Playa Venao
From April 24 to May 3, 2026, Playa Venao (Los Santos province, Panama) is hosting the XIX edition of the Pan American Surfing Games (PASA Games 2026). It's the most important event of the year for surfing in the region: 280 athletes from 19 countries are competing across five disciplines for medals, ISA world ranking points, and most critically, qualification spots for the Lima 2027 Pan American Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
For Team Peru, this is the year's first major international challenge with full squads. After a 2024 season where Peru finished as Pan American runner-up (5 individual golds, team silver in Punta Rocas), the delegation arrives in Panama with a mix of established champions and new generation talent.
What are the Pan American Surfing Games
The PASA Games are organized by the Pan American Surf Association (PASA) — the continental body affiliated with the International Surfing Association (ISA). They've been held annually since 2007 (with occasional gaps) and are the main amateur Pan American event on the calendar, with national federation representation.
- 2026 venue: Playa Venao, Pedasí, Panama.
- Dates: April 24 to May 3.
- Edition: XIX.
- Countries: 19 (Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay).
- Athletes: 280 (maximum 22 per country, 11 men and 11 women).
Five disciplines, two categories per gender
The 2026 program includes:
- Shortboard (3M / 3F)
- Longboard (2M / 2F)
- SUP Surf (2M / 2F)
- SUP Technical Race (2M / 2F)
- Prone Bodyboard (2M / 2F)
Individual medals per discipline plus a team medal that aggregates each country's best results.
Peruvian roster 2026: 22 athletes
The Peruvian team includes surfers with World Tour experience, several who've competed on the WSL Championship Tour and earned recent ISA podiums. Names confirmed in specialized press and FENTA's official channels include:
Shortboard
- Men: Lucca Mesinas (Santiago 2023 gold, former WSL CT), Alonso Correa (WSL CT 2026), Lucas Garrido Lecca.
- Women: Sol Aguirre, Daniella Rosas (Pan American medalist), Arena Rodríguez.
Longboard
- Men: Benoit "Piccolo" Clemente (longtime icon of Peruvian longboard).
- Women: María Fernanda Reyes, Claudia Hinostroza.
SUP Surf and SUP Race
- Vania Torres — 2025 ISA SUP Surf World Champion. The only current world gold medalist in Peruvian surfing and one of Peru's top medal hopes.
- Tamil Martino — women's SUP Surf.
- Itzel Delgado and Adrián Calvo — SUP Technical Race.
Bodyboard (Prone)
- Women: Hannah Saavedra, Giannisa Vecco, Camila Murguía.
- Men: Cristopher Bayona, Fabio Saavedra.
Note: the official discipline assignment for each of the 22 athletes is published in detail through FENTA's official channels (@fenta_peru). This list reflects the most complete public roster at the time of publishing.
Coaching staff
The team travels with a top-level technical staff:
- Gabriel Aramburú
- Carlos Zapata
- Oswaldo Vélez
- Cristóbal de Col (former WSL CT, now coach)
- Jorge Saavedra
What's at stake for Peru: ranking, Lima 2027 and LA28
The PASA Games 2026 deliver three distinct prizes for Peruvian athletes:
- Continental medals — the most visible objective. Brazil has won team gold the last three years; Peru is chasing the continental top spot it held in earlier editions.
- ISA world ranking points — key for qualifying for the 2026 ISA World Surfing Games and improving seeding for future world championships.
- Qualification spots — the event is qualifying for the Lima 2027 Pan American Games and delivers slots toward the LA28 Olympic pathway, which combines points from the WSL Championship Tour, ISA WSG and Pan American Games.
Favorites and rivals
The main historical contenders for the Pan American podium:
- Brazil — current team champion (2022, 2023, 2024). Deepest bench in shortboard and longboard.
- Peru — 2024 runner-up with 5 individual golds. Historically top-3.
- Costa Rica — strong in men's shortboard and longboard.
- Argentina — competitive in bodyboard and SUP.
- United States — less regional presence but very high-level surfers.
- Panama — local, motivated by knowing Venao well.
How to follow the event
The finals schedule generally concentrates between May 1 and 3, with the closing ceremony on May 3. To follow live:
- Official site: pasasurf.org (results, draws, and heats).
- FENTA Instagram: @fenta_peru — daily updates from the delegation.
- PASA Instagram: @panamericansurf — live broadcasts and highlights.
- Andina, Infobae Peru, Depor — coverage and interviews.
Recent precedent at Playa Venao
From April 11 to 17, 2026, also at Playa Venao, the South American Youth Games Panama 2026 were held. Peru's surf results:
- 3 golds: Lucciano Campos, Hannah Saavedra and Catalina Zariquiey.
- 1 silver: María Conterno (SUP).
Which means the Peruvians arrive at PASA Games with familiarity of the lineup and recent positive results.
Conclusion
The Pan American Surfing Games 2026 are the most important annual event for Peruvian team surfing. With a delegation that combines world champions, Championship Tour surfers and emerging youth, and with Olympic qualification spots in play, the spotlight is on the next seven days. At wavesearch.pro we'll be following the results — and in the next blog update we'll cover the Peruvian medal tally and key takeaways from the event.
Sources
- PASA Surf — pasasurf.org (XIX Pan American Surfing Games).
- FENTA Peru — official 2026 roster.
- Andina, Infobae Peru, El Comercio, Depor (April 2026 coverage).
- ISA — LA28 Olympic qualification system.