Could American Surfers Be Barred From the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?
USA Surfing and US Ski and Snowboard are locked in a battle for the heart and soul of competitive surfing in the United States, and only one of the organizations is run by surfers.
By Jake Howard in Surfer Magazine
Olympic gold, better than a world title?
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The fight for the soul of Olympic surfing in America is raging as USA Surfing and US Ski and Snowboard continue to wage war over the right to operate and govern the United States national surf program. A complex, complicated issue, what you need to know is that while both parties are vying for control of surfing ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games, which will be held at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, only one is run by and for surfers.
USA Surfing currently oversees all facets of America’s national surf program. That means juniors, adaptive, longboarding, stand-up paddle, and the Olympic program in 2021, as well as the ISA World Championships and development programs around the country.
US Ski and Snowboard is only looking to control the Olympic program—and the dollars that come with it.
Rather than delve into the minutia of Olympic charters, legal posturing, and what feels like countless hearings, some personal thoughts on the subject after having spent the last 20 years around the Olympic surfing issue.
First, I started putting USA Surfing print programs together as a partnership with SURFER Magazine back in the early 2000s when the organization was just getting on its feet. At the time, future greats like Carissa Moore and Kolohe Andino were pre-teens with stars in their eyes. The national program provided them with a platform to go on and enjoy wildly successful careers. Run by surfers and surf industry insiders, from the onset, the organization had a deep understanding of what it takes to foster world-champion caliber talent. That dedication and commitment are as present today as they were two decades ago.
Over the years, I sat through numerous Friends of Olympic Surfing meetings. Led by ISA President Fernando Aguerre and like-minded players, their goal was to realize the dream of gold medalist and Hawaiian icon Duke Kahanamoku, who envisioned surfing in the Games someday. It took about 100 years to turn the vision into reality, but thanks to the hard work of a number of dedicated surfers, in 2021 surfing made its Olympic debut in Japan.
And while I don’t know enough about the history or inner workings of US Ski and Snowboard to comment or criticize, I do know that they’re based in Utah, which is a long way from the beach. By outsourcing American competitive surfing to Utah, it would remove the sport from the epicenter of the industry and community. It makes no sense to have someone in Utah calling shots in Huntington.
Their current CEO is Sophie Goldschmidt, formerly the CEO of the WSL and my boss during my brief tenure at the league. She is credited with ushering in the era of equal prize money on the Championship Tour, but let’s be clear, as someone that was at the Surf Ranch when that historic announcement was made, it doesn’t happen without WSL ownership, namely Natasha Ziff, making it possible.
Goldschmidt is not a surfer. She’s a career sports executive from England. Prior to the WSL she looked after professional tennis (cue Bobby Martinez tennis tour rant). And before that it was rugby. And now she wants to fold surfing (as well as skateboarding) into the organization she helms. That’d be a heck of a feather in her cap.
If US Ski and Snowboard are allowed to take over the Olympic portion of American competitive surfing it could be a massive blow to the sport in North America. Because they’re only interested in taking on the Olympic program, all of the other segments, like the junior, longboard, and adaptive surfers, would be left blowing in the breeze. There would be no continuity or cohesiveness in the sport’s pathways.
Should the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee grant US Ski control of surfing, it could potentially violate the Ted Stevens Act, which may then trigger both legal action and a congressional inquiry. The USOPC has already been under scrutiny by U.S. Congress, who have gone so far as to threaten to withdraw their tax-exempt status. The act “authorizes the national governing body to represent the United States in international sports federations and coordinate amateur athletic activity in the United States.”
It could eventually be found that US Ski isn’t operating in the best interest in the sport of surfing if this goes through. The ramifications of such a violation could be huge, resulting in American surfers not being allowed to compete in the 2028 L.A. Games or potentially stripped of their medals…on their home soil, no less.
The ISA, the WSL, surfers around the country, and other key stakeholders, including the City of San Clemente, where the Games will be held in 2028, have all voiced support for USA Surfing. Hearings are upcoming. Decisions on the future of American surfing are imminent.
So, what can you do to help the cause? A petition has been launched at StopTheSkiJack.com, that’s a great place to start. Here are some other tips:
Comment • Like • Share USA Surfing posts on this issue to boost visibility.
Email the USOPC NGB Certification Review Group representative — Mark Storey at mark.storey@usopc.org
Subject: Keep Surf in Surfing — Recertify USA Surfing (LA28)
Message (copy/paste):
I support recertifying USA Surfing as the NGB and rejecting any carve-out that transfers Olympic surfing’s rights outside the sport. Please ensure a fair, transparent process that honors one sport, one NGB, includes athlete input, and reinvests LA28 opportunities back into surfing and its full pipeline, including para.
Tag allies & use hashtags: #KeepSurfInSurfing #OneSportOneNGB #LA28 #USASurfing.
Email your U.S. House of Representative and U.S. Senators to alert them to the violations of the Ted Stevens Act and demand a Congressional inquiry and protections of athlete rights and sport independence and development.
