A total of 44 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from all five Olympic Continents have qualified so far for the ANOC World Beach Games San Diego 2019, as excitement for the inaugural event continues to build.
With less than one year to go, qualification for the 17 disciplines across 15 exciting and dynamic beach, water and action sports is well underway. Shortboard surfing, 3×3 basketball, beach handball and individual kata have all already hosted qualification events, which have seen athletes from 44 NOCs qualify for their countries at next year’s inaugural Games.  
Approximately 1,300 athletes from across every Olympic continent are expected to take part in San Diego 2019 with more than 400,000 fans expected at the event, which will take place from Oct. 10-14. Last month, ANOC signed a broadcast deal with NBC who will be the official broadcasters of the event.
ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said:
“It is very exciting to see that so many NOCs from all five continents have already qualified for next year’s first-ever ANOC World Beach Games. The qualification process has been designed to ensure that the world’s top athletes will compete in San Diego next year and the athletes that have competed in the qualification events so far have shown how much we have to look forward to.
“The ANOC World Beach Games will be the pinnacle of global excellence in beach, action and water sports and will connect new disciplines and new sports stars to a new generation of sports fans. It will be an event unlike any we have seen before, combining dynamic sports and a new set of elite athletes with live musical performances and the latest trends in technology. With many more qualification events to come, there will be a lot of opportunities for more NOCs to qualify for San Diego 2019. We are greatly looking forward to seeing their athletes compete over the coming months and welcoming them to San Diego.”