Australia’s Para Surfing team, the Irukandjis, hit the water at URBNSURF Sydney on Wednesday October 14 for a dedicated team training session ahead of the 2026 ISA World Para Surfing Championships in California this November.
The session brought the 13-strong Australian squad together as preparations ramp up for the November 19–22 World Championships, where the team will look to build on its success at the 2025 event.
Australia will send one of the world’s leading Para Surfing teams to the 2026 ISA World Para Surfing Championships, after they claimed Team Copper and eight individual medals at the 2025 World Championships.
With four World Champions among the squad, the Irukandjis are now working towards the next challenge: getting the team to California, with Surfing Australia aiming to raise $100,000 to help cover the costs of representing Australia on the world stage.
Each member of Australian's Para Surfing team have already overcome insurmountable challenges to discover or make a return to surfing. For many of the athletes, representing Australia comes at a significant personal cost.
Flights, accommodation, competition expenses and specialised equipment are only part of the equation. Some athletes also need to travel with essential support teams, meaning the cost of representing their country can be double or even triple that of other competitors.
Behind every athlete on the Australian Para Surfing Team is a story of strength, unwavering resilience, and love of the sport.
From 20 Years Out Of the Ocean to Two-Time World Champion
Two-time ISA World Champion Joel Taylor (NSW), claimed his second consecutive world title in the Prone 1 division in 2025 after an unforgettable final against reigning world champion and fellow Irukandji, Kai Colless (QLD).
The pair showcased Australia's dominance in the division, both earning perfect 10-point rides during one of the standout heats of the event.
The 2X World Champion Joel Taylor was paralysed from the waist down following a spinal cord injury suffered in a wipeout at Pipeline in 2001.
For more than two decades, he believed he would never surf again.
Then, in 2022, he discovered Para Surfing.
Four years later, Taylor is preparing to represent Australia again and chase a third World Championship.
"Representing Australia at the ISA World Para Surfing Championship is everything to me. It’s what I train for all year. I didn’t touch the ocean for 20 years after a spinal cord injury from a wipeout at Pipeline in 2001 left me paralysed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair for life. I was convinced I would never surf again until I discovered para surfing in 2022."
"The ISA World Para Championship attracts the best para surfers from around the world more than any other event on our calendar. It’s the peak of our sport and the contest everyone strives to be a part of and wants to win. It’s not only a showcase of ability, but also a display of the strength, resilience and hope that our community of athletes, supporters and volunteers have become renowned for." — Joel Taylor.
Life Changing Diagnosis at Fifteen, to World Surfing Champion
For 20-year-old Kai Colless, the journey to the Irukandjis began with a diagnosis that changed his life almost overnight.
At just 15, Colless was an active young surfer, runner and surf lifesaver when he was diagnosed with a rare spinal arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which caused swelling around his spinal cord and severely affected the movement in his legs.
He spent four months in hospital before undergoing life-saving surgery and was classified as a paraplegic. He was told he was unlikely to walk again.
But Colless was determined to get back to the ocean.
After leaving hospital, he committed to intensive rehabilitation while returning to surfing prone alongside his friends. Within months, he was competing internationally.
What followed was extraordinary.
Colless became ISA World Champion in 2024 and has established himself as one of the world's leading Para surfers. At the 2025 ISA World Para Surfing Championship, he finished second behind Australian teammate Joel Taylor in an extraordinary all-Australian final — producing a perfect 10-point ride on his way to the silver medal.
Now a four-time World Champion, Colless is preparing to pull on the Irukandjis colours again in California.
"Going to California & being part of the Aussie team for ISA Worlds is an incredible opportunity. It’s a platform to surf our best against athletes from all over the world. Trips like this aren’t cheap, especially coming from the other side of the globe, so the fundraising support genuinely makes it possible for my team mates and I to make opportunities like this a reality."
"Being part of The Irukandjis has shown me a side of surfing that’s just as much about comradery as it is about competition. The team environment on the beach is always the best part! Us Aussies are always the loudest and proudest!" — Kai Colless
A Reason to Move Forward
For Emma Dieters, representing Australia means far more than competition.
Dieters was diagnosed as a C4 quadriplegic in February 2021 after spinal fusion surgery went wrong. Dieters couldn't have imagined she would return to surfing, let alone compete for Australia on the world stage. But just a year later, in 2022, she became an ISA World Surfing Champion.
After claiming Bronze in 2025, Emma Dieters (NSW) is eager to continue her remarkable journey on the world stage.
“Representing Australia and the Irukandjis is such a great honour, but it’s about something much deeper than sport. Since acquiring my spinal cord injury in 2021, para surfing has given me focus, purpose and a way to show what is truly possible after life is flipped upside down.
If you told me five years ago I’d be back in the ocean, let alone chasing a 3X World Championship, I wouldn’t have believed you. Every time I wear the iconic Irukandjis green and gold, I’m representing a pathway that saved me and gave me a reason to keep pushing forward. The team camaraderie and support of this incredible community is what makes this journey so special.” — Emma Dieters.
Pittwater's Em Dieters at the training session
Supporting The Para Irukandjis
The team’s $100,000 fundraising campaign will directly support the athletes as they prepare for the World Championships, helping ease the financial burden that comes with competing internationally and allowing them to focus on what they do best — surfing.
"We aren’t just covering flights and specialised equipment; many athletes also need to fund travel and accommodation for their support teams, which can mean doubling or tripling the costs. The support of our community through the ASF fundraising campaign means everything. It gives us the freedom to focus on performing in the waves rather than worrying about the bills." — Emma Dieters.
We are completely self funded. Support from the community and sponsors alleviates financial stress and allows us to perform our best. Without it, we can’t represent Australia on the biggest stage as a team or pursue our own personal dreams. — Joel Taylor.
Support the Irukandjis on their journey by donating to the team's official fundraising campaign:
asf.org.au/campaigns/surfing-australia/2026-isa-irukandjis-para-team
For further updates throughout the event, follow @theirukandjs + @surfingaus on Instagram and Facebook.
