"We have worked closely with the IOC, the athletes, and other stakeholders to deliver a clear and fair process.”
The cold war between the International Surfing Association and World Surf League surfers has exploded hot, in recent days, with both sides digging in. At issue, an Olympic qualification rules change which slashes the number of WSL surfers in half and cedes much power to the ISA and its World Surf Games, held in dynamic El Salvador, a country which boasts the “world’s coolest dictator” in Nayib Bukele.
In year’s past, WSL surfers would have to surf in the ISA’s World Surfing Games during Olympic years but only a certain amount of heats. Each would leave directly, possibly embarrassing ISA’s longtime chief Fernando Aguerre.
Now, they will have to be very serious about repechage each and every year.
WSL surfers became visibly upset, taking to social media to decry the move.
Current men’s champ Yago Dora declaring, “Complete disrespect on the way you guys conducted this absolutely sad for our sport and future generations of surfers.”
Italy’s Leonardo Fioravanti adding, Completely disagree with this qualification system. The qualification system in the last 2 Olympics worked perfect. Having 10 surfers from the @wsl world tour was the best way to make sure the best surfers in the world made it to the Olympics. Now the 2027 WSL world champion isn’t event guaranteed to compete in the Olympics To be clear, on behalf of the WSL surfers, we tried to communicate with the ISA to find the best solution for everyone but the ISA was not willing to work with any of the WSL surfers. I don’t think this is the way to move forward and make our sport better not only for our generation but for future generations.
Aguerre, for his part, clearly peeved at the indulgence. While the ISA has yet to release an official statement about the strife, the very colorful former owner of Reef sandals shared, “The updates to the qualification system reflect the ISA’s dedication to making sure the world’s best surfers have the best possible opportunity to earn their place at LA28. We have worked closely with the IOC, the athletes, and other stakeholders to deliver a clear and fair process.”
But do you think hidden surfing gems are out there, in the world, only needing a fair shake to shine or are they all, literally, on the WSL already and should the Championship Tour basically be the qualifiers?
Crazy days.
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
The system rewards the veterans and makes it hard for the up and comers via the seeding and points spread. Yes the top surfers dominate to a certain degree except when young guns like Parko, Slater, Toledo, Medina, Steph Gilmore, Carissa Moore, Tyler Wright, Owen Wright, Molly Picklum and Caitlin Simmers come along and crush the top dogs. Mick Fanning was living off the smell of an oily rag and close to throwing in the competition towel before he won at Bell’s Beach as a 19-year-old wildcard in 2001. After 3 years of lack lustre pro junior results that was the breakthrough he needed.
I think Sally’s got a pretty tight little unit and her true blue Aussie twang is like music to my ears. Always had a little thing for her.
Bring on a Kelly, John, Dane, Kolohe ISA repechage heat!
Will Mr Slater qualify through lower tier events???
Short memory Twillsy.
LOB, Jacko Baker and Morgan Ciblic, Callum Robson all had day jobs when they made the tour.
Morgs couldn’t make A team of his local board riders then made top 5 the next year.
Jacko Baker was a delivery driver who then went out and beat Pip Toledo, the best small wave surfer of all time, at shoulder high Winkipop.
Callum Robson was pounding nails on a building site then went out and beat Gabe Medina at Margies, has won two Changas and been very close to winning at CT level.
I’m seeing a big shift Twillsy- there’s more LOB’s, Jacko Bakers, Morgan Ciblics, etc etc in the water than ever before. Guys with jobs, young fellas with apprenticeships with full CT skill sets.
Bit of luck and they could win heats on the CT no probs.
Or win Olympic medals.
This is what I’m seeing in the water every day.
Things have changed mate.
If WSL surfers boycott the Olympics what happens to those 10 spots? Just let the Olympics be the lame Kookfest the ISA wants it to be. Though I’m guessing things like Red Bull incentives for medals could be hard to pass up. It was funny watching Medina completely decimate fools to qualify through the ISA last time. But it was also kind of a joke watching him compete in that.
Could be fun watching BG have a field day with stories about how the “current world champ was not allowed to compete in the Olympics” (if it pans out like that) or current number 2,3, 4 and so on. Might be a fun pile on for all of us. I’m sure the surf community is down for some Olympic level online trolling and complaining.
Riiiiight. Both the male bronze and gold medalists qualified via ISA events. Strikes me as much ado about nothing.
Current Gold Medalist Kauli Vaast pretty much literally answers that question.
Won’t this guy get deported with a name like that anyway? Problem solved.
Vibes based?
Would you like me to list the number of times and in what conditions, no-name wildcards have beaten the CT’s best?
Mate, Jordy Smith was a wave away from being beaten by a Fijian boatmen at Cloudy 2024- guy had never surfed a heat in his life.
I’d put 19 year old Dane Henry up against just about any CT surfer at head high Trestles, right now.
The gap between current Tour surfers and the huge squadron of pure shredders is smaller than it’s ever been.
More like compete in the Ozempics!!!
AMIRIGHT!?!?!
Olympics are lame AF
The ISA should make all surfers who want to surf in the Olympics sign NDAs, then they will all think this is the greatest idea.
Yesssss! And they’re not allowed to actually paddle out! No! They have to duckdive the whole way out
https://uploads.disquscdn.c… Does this include body painting??
The ISA people clearly have no respect for the WSL and the surfers on the WSL tour –
nah, just a boring old turf war.
Which the ISA is winning.
Can’t wait for repechage round 47 featuring the surfers from Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Benin and Venezuela.
How do you enter? How about a fifty buck chuck for each Beachgrittian and raffle a candidate!
Xox
Yeah fuck it! It’d be worth the scars on the purple vein junket gun for sure
You have an opinion so you care to some point. Let’s use hockey as an example. Everyone knows the best players are in the NHL. We all saw the product this year. Tour surfers are on a level way above everyone else and it’s not particularly close. I want the best competing and most if not nearly all of the best surfers in the world are on the tour. It’s literally the ultimate qualification.
Except JJF, Dane, and quite a few others aren’t on tour. And some are on tour, and don’t qualify, and almost requalify (Morgan Cibilic, to be specific), largely dependent on sponsorship $ and quality of waves during contests. So it’s not at all the case the best surfers are on tour. And now with wave pools, it could very well be the case that some air specialist on one day of good airwaves, could qualify over all the WCT surfers during a qualifying event.
Dane is not a serious competitor. Nothing wrong with that. JJF is JJF – you can see why he pulled out right? And I’m not talking about the Cibilic’s – he’s a worthy talent but again very few of those. Sorry but the Tour has the best surfers.
Hard disagree.
The old myth tour surfers are a level above is well and truly debunked now.
Toledo would not be competitive in heavy surf against local plumbers.
Well you have a point there. But that’s an outlier. We don’t see many like that. Even Victor Ribas fixed that hole.
The diff between local plumbers and tour talent – consistency. This is one of the most overlooked aspects. These guys/gals do not miss very often. It’s really the same across many sports.
Then by your reasoning, it should be easy for them to qualify and surf through qualification into the Olympics like anyone else trying to qualify.
Exactly- if they are so much better and so much more consistent – that should be easy to prove through competition, right?
No, because they already have obligations on the tour – trying to not only win but also re-qualify for next year. Believe it or not, it’s a grind.
Getting paid to travel and surf is the opposite of a grind
It’s harder than you think. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.
If you want to pay me to travel and surf, I’m game!
It seems simple on the surface – travel, surf, get paid. But having been a bit closer to the game then most, it’s really not that simple.
As pipspuss I totally agree.
With the Olympics to be held at Trestles in relatively small soft waves do you honestly think the tour surfers are that much better than the up and comers? Recently crowned World Junior Champion Dane Henry would smoke half the current Championship tour surfers in those conditions. Tya Zebrowski becomes the youngest-ever to qualify for the CT and she could beat most of the women’s field at Trestles or Pipeline for that matter. Especially in the women’s there’s juniors coming up that could easily win gold at the next Olympics without qualifying for the tour.
Yup I do think they are that much better. If they are that good, they’ll make the tour. One of your examples in fact is on the tour now.
correct
Maybe after the next Olympics. Too many sexual assaulters in LA and we need to keep the integrity of our competitors buttholes intact. Those city slickers would likely slip a mickey in the beers.