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Turf wars? More like surf wars. USA Surfing has made it clear it wants to govern the popular sport, although US Ski & Snowboard (USSS) also wants to do so.
The issue: USA Surfing voluntarily decertified itself, releasing its title as the National Governing Body (NGB) 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. 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.
But, says USA Surfing, it’s a new day with new waves. In fact, officials note, they have cleaned house, hiring a new CEO, finding new partners, acquiring new sponsors, hiring key staff, restructuring operations and bringing in an entirely new board of directors.
Now, they want to retake control of the sport they once managed. (Of course, in the meantime, U.S. surfing has done quite well for itself, winning gold medals in both Tokyo and Paris. During that time, and to date, USA Surfing has been training Olympic hopefuls and holding competitions at Lower Trestles in San Clemente — the same place surfers will compete in the LA28 games.)
“We have a lot to get done before the next Olympics,” Becky Fleischauer, who was appointed by the board to be the CEO in January of 2024, told Surfing. “We have a lot to do just in the next three months!”
US Ski and Snowboard (USSS), the ski and snowboard body, however, argued to reporters at Inside The Games 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."
"We feel that surfers have not been supported in the same way that we would propose to, in the past. And now, we can provide them with more of that support and the structure, the leadership and the strong backing of a large and growing organization, which is in a very good place financially as well," Sophie Goldschmidt, CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, told the OC Register in July.
USA Surfing, of course, is not going to sit out those kinds of remarks.
Ian Cairns, a former champion surfer and coach who helped develop the sport competitively, told California Public Radio the snow group is “ trying to ski-jack the crown jewels of surfing away from the surfing world. Effectively what they're doing is they’re skimming the cream off the top. They're going to take the commercial rights and they're going to put those dollars into their infrastructure.”
Proponents of USA Surfing say they have proof that their rival is ignorant of even the most rudimentary points of surfing: In a presentation to the Olympic committee, USSS used a surfing icon that appears to show a surfer facing backward on a board.
USA Surfing made it the centerpiece of their P.R. campaign against the group, printing up shirts with the errant logo and the slogan, “Don’t let surfing go in the wrong direction.” (See an image of the shirt here.)
So far, USA Surfing appears to be winning the popular vote. San Clemente, who will host surfing in the Games in 2028 at Lower Trestles, has backed USA Surfing. (USA Surfing is also headquartered in San Clemente.)
“Surfing, like all Olympic sports, should be governed by an entity that is singularly focused on the betterment of the sport, understands every aspect of the sport and provides the best opportunity for success (in all its forms) of the athletes,” city officials argued in support of USA Surfing.
At the heart of the destination’s concerns is the fear that benefits, financial and otherwise, could be diminished if the U.S. Olympic surf team is controlled by Utah-based U.S. Ski and Snowboard. NGBs for Olympic sports get money directly from the Olympic committee.
Both US Ski and Snowboard and USA Surfing acknowledge that money is part of their motivation. USSS makes no bones about the fact that it views surfing as a gateway to year-round income.
“From a commercial perspective adding a summer sport to our winter sport portfolio gives us year-round assets and programming to sell,” US Ski and Snowboarding wrote in its official bid to absorb Olympic surfing.
Goldschmidt, who is also a former CEO of the World Surf League, told the public radio organization that U.S. Ski and Snowboard also is interested in assuming control over Olympic skateboarding – but that, apparently is a turf war, or perhaps a street fight, for another time.
Inside The Games notes that it is unclear when the USOPC will make a decision on surfing's governance, but that a decision is expected by the end of the year, following an audit process and another public hearing.
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