"USSS already manages 10 winter sports and has no surf competition infrastructure, and no dedicated surf coaches."
Olympic surfing, as you may or may not know, will be with us for the foreseeable future. The “Sport of Kings” made its five-ringed debut in Tokyo Games some four years ago. Those were the Covid years of our lives and so the Olympics was conducted in 2021, not 2020 as scheduled, there were no spectators, everyone wore masks and Australia’s Owen Wright won bronze. The show was reprised for the Paris Games, in 2024, this time at Teahupo’o with Jack Robinson taking silver. It will be held again in Los Angeles for 2028 and also Brisbane, Australia 2032.
Thus far, USA Surfing has not been involved.
Olympic disciplines, as you may or may not care, each require a national governing body in order to make the rules of who gets to represent country, provide logistics, make championships etc. USA Surfing was once in charge but lost its certification in 2021 when audits revealed shenanigans such as lack of financial oversight, failure to complete financial audits and other such naughties.
After cleaning up its act, USA Surfing reapplied to take the reins but, alas, a challenger arose in the form of US Ski and Snowboard which just so happens to be led by former World Surf League CEO Sophie Goldschmidt.
Well, hours ago the cold civil war turned hot with USA Surfing unleashing a blistering letter savaging its wintery brethren. After burnishing bonafides, claiming the support of the International Surfing Association, World Surf League and Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, the organization lit right in with an encyclical titled Surf Community Rallies Behind Strong, Surf-Centered NGB Application:
In an unprecedented move, U.S. Ski & Snowboard (USSS)—a winter sports NGB with no history governing surfing—has also applied to take over Olympic surfing governance. USSS already manages 10 winter sports and has no surf competition infrastructure, and no dedicated surf coaches.
At a time when other countries are doubling down on investments in surfing, the U.S. is heading in the opposite direction—not only disinvesting, but undermining the very talent pipeline that contributed to back-to-back Olympic gold medals and supports the growth of emerging Olympic and Paralympic surf disciplines.
USA Surfing looks forward to U.S. Ski’s public hearing April 15 and welcome continued public review of both applications.
How does U.S. Ski plan to reconcile their application with the Ted Stevens Act and Olympic Charter requirements that a certified NGB must be recognized by the international federation and serve the full interest of the sport and its athletes?
USA Surfing never wanted to be in an adversarial position with another Olympic sport. It serves neither of us—nor the Olympic and Paralympic movement—well. We acknowledge U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s athletes’ tradition of excellence, and their organizational capacity. We ask only for the same respect in return—for the surfers, the coaches, the community and culture.
In the end, this is bigger than any one application. USA Surfing is hopeful that the final outcome will protect athlete pathways of development, elevate surfing, and follow the Olympic Charter’s vision for unity, excellence, and fair play.
No dedicated surf coaches? What’s the world coming to?
In all seriousness, though, is the support of the ISA, WSL and SIMA really a plus?
Count me with US Ski and Snowboard.
Team Goldschmidt.
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Team Goldschmidt is failing USSS and if not for Mikaela Shiffrin’s incredible talents courtesy of her mother Eileen and since deceased father(RIP), USSS would be a middling performer at best on the world stage. But at least the bitter Lindsey Vonn has brought her self-developed drama back in view to spice things up while trying to play down her time with PK and Tiger who are lucky to be rid of her…and of course Thomas Vonn doesn’t miss Lindsey!
Team Goldschmidt has torn down much of what USSS was prior to her arrival. Save for Mikaela Schiffrin and the bitter PR hot mess Lindsey Vonn, who will NOT win a medal at the Cortina Olympics and Breezy Johnson(just returned from a drug suspension), Team Goldschmidt has fostered average women’s talent and almost completely neutered the men’s teams.
Their biggest mistake was misnaming themselves.
They SHOULD’VE been called ‘SURFING USA’.
Then they could also get a free theme song in the bargain.
Does Chopes still work? Reef dead? Floating sex boat still docked there?Haven’t heard a peep since the games…
Not in-vogue anymore …. What’s the next hot topic to virtue signal for?
They’ve already improved that road that starts on the mesa overlooking between lowers and church and loops south before turning up the beach north.
Did they need to build anything for the olympics in Japan?
all those grassroots effort to save the waves in the Trestles/SanO area for nothing. Fuck the City of San Clemente and everyone else in the region who greenlit this.
Lower Trestles officially the location for the LA28 Olympics. So much for the Save Trestles campaign—they’re gonna build shit that ruins the wave anyway
How is it that they are building temporary structures that ruin the wave? Honest question. There isn’t much water movement from the wetland in summer months so not understanding what is going to ruin things.
building temporary structures consistent with prior contests wouldn’t be the problem. building additional roads and stuff throughout that watershed area certainly would. and there’s no guarantee that these structures would be temporary.
Have you seen a plan for what they are going to do? Maybe there are no new roads and the structures are actually temporary. Seems much ado about nothing until they disclose what they are going to do.
if Tahiti is any indication, they’ll be intentionally vague about what exactly they are planning.
USA Surfing should consider me as their spokesman. Just cut out the fluff and get to the point.
“You’re going to let a bunch of jabroni’s run the show? Need I say more?”
What are the pressing matters that need to be governed over, the type of sandwiches that will be served in the surfers tent at Huntington Beach in three years?
Dagnabit, it better be Sessions West Coast Deli. The Yogi is to die for!
At a guess, the mining of the millions of dollars of Olympic cash that governing bodies get.
Skiers ruin everything.
I heard Otto is a skier. He will be at Canyon Lodge in Mammoth at high noon today
Otto has lost all credibility with me after he said nurse ratchet(Pam Bondi) was hot.
yikes
It’s not my fault you’re gay.
you gotta raise your standards dude, because this a Skeletor-level mug
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
I get it, Merrick Garland is more your style
She’s hot in a Spanish Inquisition kind of way.
in the sense that nobody expects her to say anything truthful, I concur.
Probably should have prefaced that with “For an AG…..”
At lift pole 9?
and you’re a coward if you can’t get there by noon.
David Lee Scales is a skier.
I could never bet against that.
Lots of skier surfers. The whole if you surf you can only snowboard bullshit is only really a SoCal thing. Nobody else cares.
Like roller-bladers.