Surf contest loses WSL sanction after ban on Israeli surfers

"These Israeli athletes are caught in the crossfire of a reality that no one desires, except Hamas."

A World Surf League contest was canceled in Spain — not called off due to lack of surf or lack of interest. In fact, the contenders had already shown up and were preparing for competition. So what caused this sudden reversal?

Israeli participation.

A few days before the competition was meant to begin, an email was sent to the Israeli surfers, demanding they surf under a “world” flag as opposed to their own national symbol. The demand was untenable to the Israelis and they refused to abide by the request.

When the World Surf League caught wind of what was happening, they canceled the event at great financial loss — and to much consternation on the part of all the hopeful participants.

In a statement given to scandal-prone surf blog The Inertia the World Surf League wrote,

“The WSL has withdrawn its sanction of the upcoming Donostia Junior Pro, originally scheduled to begin on June 6, 2025, following a new determination by the San Sebastián City Sports Councilor on June 4, 2025 that alters the eligibility status of registered competitors. This change is in breach of multiple provisions in the WSL Rule Book. Section 5 outlines the requirements for athlete entry and seeding, which must be free from arbitrary or discriminatory exclusion. The change also violates the WSL’s established policy, as set out in the Rule Book, of zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, harassment, or abuse.

“Additionally, the WSL was no longer assured of a reasonable level of safety for all participants, as required for all events. As a result, the event can no longer be conducted in accordance with the WSL’s basic requirements for all Pro Junior competitions. Due to these circumstances, the WSL has terminated the Event License Agreement and the Donostia Junior Pro event will no longer be a WSL-sanctioned event. The WSL acknowledges the inconvenience this causes to competitors, partners, and fans.”

Although this story may come as a shock to some, this is not the first time Israeli participants have had to change their flag.

At a Qualifying Series event in Morocco in March, Anat Lelior made history as the first Israeli to qualify for the Challenger Series. This milestone was slightly hampered because her national symbol was hidden. At the time, much of the surf media reported that the WSL demanded the Israeli contingent hide their flag.

But Lelior confirmed that she and the other competitors decided to hide their flag for security reasons in the Muslim country. The WSL was in full support of their decision.

After writing an Op-Ed piece on the issue, I spent subsequent weeks attempting to publish it in different surf media channels. Most ignored my request or turned it down.

But one outlet showed interest and courage in tackling the issue. At the time, Israel and Gaza were in the midst of a ceasefire.

As final touches were made on the article, the ceasefire broke down and the Israeli offensive resumed. When I asked the editor when he thought the piece would be published, it emerged that we were on opposite sides of the political divide.

Phrases such as “heavy handed” “tens of thousands of civilian deaths” and “untold suffering” became regular descriptions of the Israel/Gaza conflict.

Despite our differences, I cherished the back and forths this editor and I had. It’s not often that those who passionately disagree take the time to consider the opposing view, and we both did just that. My fear is that his outlook is emblematic of the larger surf community. But, unlike my conversations with the editor, there is a general lack of dialogue in today’s climate — and that is exacerbating tensions.

Things in Israel are not so simple. Nothing in the Middle East ever is. Even the Israeli public is divided on what’s the best course of action. Many want nothing but a hostage deal — while still others place primacy on defeating our enemy.

But there are some things the majority agree upon, and those issues were flashpoints in the competition controversy in Spain.

From an outsider’s perspective, with little knowledge of the history and facts on the ground, it’s not surprising that many see Israel as the aggressor. That’s exactly the language the Spanish surf club used in describing the conflict. In their eyes, Israel is akin to Russia and invaded an innocent neighboring country and therefore, the Israelis should have been barred from competing.

But in order for that to be true, the timeline of events would need to begin on Oct 8. Even ignoring all the background between the two groups, which is long and complex, there’s no avoiding the fact that Hamas, along with many Gazan civilians, invaded Israel and committed one of the worst terrorist attacks in history.

Most people, when making their moral calculations about the war, strictly look at the numbers. They’ve heard of the 1,200 murdered on Oct 7 and compare it to the thousands dead on the Palestinian side and come to the conclusion that Israel is in the wrong. And solely on a numbers basis, who could blame them?

One thing we can all agree on is that war is tragic for everyone involved. If Israel was able to achieve the goals of dismantling Hamas and returning the hostages without firing a shot, not a single bullet would have been used. But since Hamas is unwilling to surrender or even agree to a hostage deal, it leaves Israel with no option but to act.

What few point out is that the majority of the civilian deaths reported don’t take into account the number of combatants within that figure. The civilian to combatant ratio is close to 1:1, a feat never before achieved in urban warfare. Of course this is not to minimize the inevitable collateral damage of war. Each innocent life lost is a tragedy in and of itself. But due to the existential threat posed by the terrorist entity at her borders, Israel is doing everything possible to neutralize that reality as precisely as possible.

All this ignores the fact that none of the Israeli surfers came to Spain with this in mind. They, just like any other person in the lineup, wanted nothing more than to surf and maybe make a few friends.

These athletes are caught in the crossfire of a reality that no one desires, except Hamas.

We should do all in our power not to give the terrorists what they want, which is more anger and hatred. The cancellation of this competition has given us the opportunity to dialogue about this complex issue without drawing lines in the sand.

Let’s not squander that chance.