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Following an often contentious process involving USA Surfing and U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) certified USA Surfing on April 15 as the national governing body for Olympic Surfing in the United States. The move “unlock[s] what every American surfer, coach and coastal community has been working toward: a fully resourced, surfer-led Olympic program competing at home for the LA28 Olympic Games at Lower Trestles,” according to a statement from USA Surfing.
Surfing has been an Olympic sport since the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
“Every Olympic medal U.S. surfers have won so far has come through USA Surfing’s pipeline and this coaching culture,” said Brett Simpson, surfing’s first Olympic head coach and a USA Surfing board member. “You’re seeing that right now with Gabriela Bryan, a USA Surfing alum, who is starting the [World Surf League Championship Tour] season ranked number one in the world. With the resources this certification unlocks, we’re leveling up a system surfers already trust and delivering the world-class support these athletes have always deserved.”
USA Surfing has committed to covering 64 athletes across all six International Surfing Association disciplines, qualifying competitions, domestic and international training, Olympic-specific preparation at Lower Trestles, “cutting-edge” coaching and data analysis, and wave pool training sessions.
“USA Surfing said last June it had secured a multimillion-dollar endowment to secure its finances, a key moment in what had become a contentious battle between the NGB and U.S. Ski & Snowboard, which is led by former World Surf League CEO Sophie Goldschmidt and was seeking to become the governing body for the summer sport,” ESPN.com reported.
But last November, U.S. Ski & Snowboard — a national governing body for winter sports with no history of governing surfing — withdrew its application for Olympic surfing’s NGB status.
“U.S. Ski & Snowboard entered this process with enthusiasm and conviction in our ability to help elevate American surfing, and we continue to believe strongly that our athlete-first model, track record of success across 10 Olympic & Paralympic sports and world-class infrastructure could provide the resources that U.S. surfers deserve,” read a statement the association issued at the time.
The main issue, as covered by SDM, was that “USA Surfing voluntarily decertified itself, releasing its title as the national governing body in the wake of reports of mismanaged funds after the 2020 Games. In 2019, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee audited USA Surfing and found numerous problems, including failing to disclose conflicts of interest."
Additionally, "The audit also found minimal documentation and oversight of how the organization’s leaders were spending its money. As a result, USA Surfing voluntarily agreed to relinquish its control over the U.S. Olympic surf team until after the 2024 Paris games. Upon voluntary decertification in 2021, USOPC internally managed USA Surfing for the Olympics only, while USA Surfing continued to field and support teams competing globally, as USA Surfing continues to be the IOC-recognized international federation, the International Surfing Association.”
USA Surfing also went on to hire a new CEO and tripled staff capacity, found new partners, restructured operations, brought in an entirely new board of directors, launched a live broadcast platform and now connects surfers with flexible online college education.
But U.S. Ski & Snowboard still claimed USA Surfing “chose public attacks and uninformed legal threats instead of constructive dialogue and engagement” — adding that “[w]e feel progress in sport requires partnership and trust. We remain open to opportunities in the future should the environment become more collaborative.”
Prior to the USOPC’s decision, Olympic gold medal surfers Caroline Marks and Carissa Moore joined fellow Olympic surfers in issuing a joint statement.
The statement declared, “[I]t is of utmost importance for surfers to be represented by an organization that knows us and our sport, and is exclusively dedicated to what we need to be successful. We also believe it is imperative to preserve the close connection and mentorship between developing talents and the pros on tour who will compete at the next Olympic Games.”
Last year, U.S. Ski & Snowboard had “argued to reporters at Inside the Games that that they would like to govern the sport, and that integrating surfing into the organization would allow the athletes to tap into already existing infrastructure, ‘allowing surfers to have additional tools to succeed on the world’s biggest stage,’” SDM reported.
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