{"id":135735,"date":"2025-09-01T09:33:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T09:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/equipo\/aritza-saratxaga\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T08:29:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T08:29:39","slug":"aritza-saratxaga","status":"publish","type":"equipo","link":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/team\/aritza-saratxaga\/","title":{"rendered":"Aritza Saratxaga"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Life Dedicated to Surfing<\/h2>\n<p>From a young age, <strong>Aritza Saratxaga<\/strong> has been connected to the sea and surfing. He grew up on the beaches of Sopelana and Me\u00f1akoz, where Pe\u00f1a Txuri Surf Eskola became his starting point in this sport. <strong>First as a student, then as an instructor, and finally as a technical coach<\/strong>, Aritza has dedicated his life to surfing and training new generations of surfers.<\/p>\n<p>With <strong>more than 25 years of experience<\/strong>, his passion for teaching has led him to train some of the best surfers on the national and international scene. Names like <strong>Leticia Canales, Natxo Gonz\u00e1lez, Txaber Gaminde, Ander Mendiguren, Aletxu Gironi, and Kalani Dasilva<\/strong> have gone through his training methodology, achieving great projection in the world of surfing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Surf training with Aritza Saratxaga\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uTzPxVKhHYw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n        <\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">High-Level Coach and International Training<\/h2>\n<p>Aritza is responsible for the <strong>competition group<\/strong> at Pe\u00f1a Txuri Surf Eskola, where he works with the most promising surfers in the Basque Country. His experience with past generations has given him the ability to <strong>adapt personalized training programs<\/strong>, adjusting to each athlete&#8217;s needs to maximize their performance.<\/p>\n<p>His training has gone beyond our coasts. <strong>He has completed courses in the United States with high-performance sports professionals<\/strong>, acquiring tools that he applies to his training methodology.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, he has been more involved than ever in the <strong>national surf scene<\/strong>, participating as part of the technical team in key competitions, including some <strong>qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games<\/strong>. Additionally, he has worked with young talents competing in the QS, such as <strong>Yago Dom\u00ednguez and Iker Trigueros<\/strong>, achieving outstanding results in multiple events.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Technical surf video on Vimeo\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/80555636?h=9c831eef10\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n        <\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Big Wave Surfer<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to his role as a coach, <strong>Aritza Saratxaga<\/strong> has left his mark on the world of <strong>big wave surfing<\/strong>. He was the <strong>first surfer from Biscay in history to be nominated for the Billabong XXL<\/strong>, one of the most prestigious awards in giant wave surfing.<\/p>\n<p>On <strong>January 21st<\/strong>, alongside <strong>Axier Muniain<\/strong>, he starred in an epic session at the famous <strong>Isla Pancha<\/strong> wave, facing extreme conditions and proving that his talent in big waves is on par with the best surfers in the world.<\/p>\n<p>As an <strong>experienced local at Me\u00f1akoz<\/strong>, one of the benchmark waves for this discipline, Aritza has consolidated his reputation in <strong>big wave surfing<\/strong>. His deep knowledge of these types of breaks and his ability to face extreme conditions have made him a <strong>reference in big wave surfing in Spain<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-137407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/19047201_10209321533862970_1698306479_o.jpg\" alt=\"Aritza Saratxaga surfing a big wave in Me\u00f1akoz\" width=\"1000\" height=\"740\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/19047201_10209321533862970_1698306479_o.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/19047201_10209321533862970_1698306479_o-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/19047201_10209321533862970_1698306479_o-768x568.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Passion for Surfing and Teaching<\/h2>\n<p>Traveling has always been a fundamental part of his life. He has surfed in some of the destinations with the best waves in the world, which has allowed him to acquire knowledge that he now shares with his students.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Aritza Saratxaga surfing quality waves\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_5TY_noLmP8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n        <\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>For Aritza, working on what he is passionate about is an honor, and that is why he continues to train and improve his coaching techniques. His goal is to offer his students <strong>complete and personalized programs<\/strong> that help them achieve their surfing goals, whether at an amateur or professional level.<\/p>\n<p>At <strong>Pe\u00f1a Txuri Surf Eskola<\/strong>, Aritza Saratxaga is much more than a coach; he is a mentor, a guide, and a surfing enthusiast who continues to leave a mark on every generation of surfers that passes through the school.<\/p>\n<p data-ptx=\"pg2627\">Aritza is also part of the organising team of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/punta-galea-challenge-2026-2027\/\">Punta Galea Challenge 2026\/27<\/a>, Getxo&#8217;s big wave contest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover Aritza Saratxaga, big wave reference (Billabong XXL nominee) and elite coach at Pe\u00f1a Txuri Surf School. Training champions from Sopelana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":135588,"template":"","class_list":["post-135735","equipo","type-equipo","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/equipo\/135735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/equipo"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/equipo"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/equipo\/135735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138481,"href":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/equipo\/135735\/revisions\/138481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escueladesurfsopelana.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}