International surfing scholarships combine books with breakers

(All rights reserved - Organoff / International Surfing Association)

The International Surfing Association, surfing's world governing body, has announced its 2010 scholarship fund with up to 80 scholarships available for budding young surfers under the age 18 and an application deadline of December 11, 2009.

The fund helps to cover the cost of surfing equipment and travel to and from international surfing competitions for young talents struggling to make ends meet in adverse conditions, and the ISA's aim is to help its scholars stay in school and bolster their educational chances as well as their surfing skills.

The program originally started in 2007 with five scholars, but has doubled for each year since. Previous recipients have been drawn from South American countries, the Caribbean, and the Maldives, with some of the more recent beneficiaries based in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Australasia, while ages have ranged from the upper 18-year-old ceiling right down to pre-teen.

Official ISA Scholarship Information: isasurf.org/devprograms_scholarship.php