Hong Kong goes full core lord vowing to never field an Olympic surf team

"My beach, my chicks, my waves, my rules GO HOME!"

Core, as it relates to surfing, comes in many shapes and sizes. There is the surfer who disavows “the industry,” but checks Surfline before paddling out. There is the surfer who believes competition to be corruption, yet participates in local surf lifesaving club matches. There is the surfer who thinks that he/she basically invented the sport of kings since he/she has been surfing the same spot for 30+ years.

Then there is Hong Kong.

The special administrative district of the People’s Republic of China has been in the news, lately, for hating Olympic surfing so much that it refuses to allow its waves to be used for practice.

Terje Haakonsen-style.

But who could forget the snowboard legend boycotting the 1998 Winter Games, snowboarding’s Olympic introduction, for being corpo and lame?

Reminiscing about the rebel yell a decade ago, Haakonsen doubled down, declaring, “I mean, you can’t even pack your own bag, some nations say you can’t even use your own social media ‘cos they want to control all the media. The sponsorship is controlled, and people have to suddenly promote Coca Cola and McDonalds. It’s really hard to understand why you would go along with this.”

Hong Kong-based Olympic surf hopefuls’ parents, anyhow, have desperately tried to get authorities to open the shore to surf practice but the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has not budged, doubling down itself on the “no Olympic surf practice” stance by “putting up new signs stating ‘no surfing,’ according to the South China Morning Post, “in English and Chinese, adding to the notices and banners already listing the rule.”

Police officers have even been instructed to go after those daring to pollute surfing’s ideals by surf practicing.

Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong, a lawmaker with the New People’s Party and pro-Olympic surf practice voice, has petitioned the authorities for some leniency but “They said they cannot open LCSD [Leisure and Cultural Services Department] beaches for surfing because they think there will be complaints from the public.”

The core alive and well throughout Hong Kong, it appears.

Viva Terje.