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World Surf League boss suggests vast conspiracy over Olympic qualification rules change

"They ignored our attempts at a reasonable partnership, canceling meetings and failing to respond to emails..."

As you certainly know, by now, the World Surf League, led by Ryan Crosby, and the International Surfing Association, fronted by Fernando Aguerre, have been locked into a civil war which threatens the very soul of competitive professional surfing. The Fort Sumnter moment, as it were, a change to the Olympic qualification rules. In years’ past, the WSL had 10 Olympic slots at its disposal. For LA28, though, that number has been halved, the ISA gaining power and forcing the best of the best Championship Tour surfers to El Salvador where they will have to repechage and repechage once more if they hope to be invited to the dance.

The WSL surfers are very mad and now Crosby, himself, has released a statement suggesting a vast conspiracy.

It reads thusly:

The WSL supports our athletes and, together with the surfers’ representative body, World Professional Surfers (WPS), rejects the new qualification process put forward by the ISA. We believe that surfing’s success on the Olympic stage relies on the participation of the world’s elite surfers, and this new system compromises that goal.

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We are deeply disappointed in the ISA and their complete lack of consultation throughout this process. They ignored our attempts at a reasonable partnership, canceling meetings and failing to respond to emails, while simultaneously pursuing back-channel discussions regarding qualification.

We want the world’s best surfers to represent their countries at the Games and we had a good system in place that delivered this in 2020 and 2024. The previous qualification process, which included a full season of Championship Tour competition, has been scrapped by the ISA without good cause.

WSL, and our athletes, are asking that the qualification process be corrected to ensure that the top-ranked surfers have a place at the Games, consistent with Tokyo and Paris. We hope to resolve this and move forward with what’s best for the sport.

Cancelled meetings, ignored attempts at transparency, back-channel discussions.

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Release the files.

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78 Comments
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Firelipe Torpedo

I would care so much more about this if the next Olympics was being held in another critical wave like teahupoo. Honestly how much does it really matter to a viewer if the some of the athletes surfing trestles are 5% worse than some of the ct guys who couldn’t compete.

Barnycle

A+ for the thumbnail photo.

No idea where you think of this shit.

Capt Sensible

The World Surf League and its actions to erode the rich cultural diversity of recreational surfers have led to a continuous pursuit of global mediocrity, culminating in the inclusion of surfing in the Olympics and within the framework of global consumerism.

Panda's sack rash

Anyone who has dealt with these cunts know that sometimes the only way to get through to them is to ignore phone calls and emails.
Like the chick that when you give her attention she looks at you like she just stepped in dog shit but when you ignore her she becomes a desperate.
Good on the ISA.

Otto

Can’t wait to see all those empty Democrat Rep seats tonight at the State of the Union. Such a bunch of twats. Good riddance Democrat clowns

Com Turren

did you get an invite?

Otto

Will you be watching, or will you be standing with your absent Representatives as they boycott?

Will you be doing a protest dance in your living room, like that hilarious dance troop at the Kennedy Center?

Com Turren

Of course I’ll be watching—who doesn’t want to watch a clown?

Otto

You’re right, Hakeem Jeffries’ facial contortions should be quite clownish

Com Turren

how many Epstein victims will accompany the Democrats who do show up though?

Otto

who knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the Dems invited former Prince Andrew.

Com Turren

One would think that Trump would’ve invited his own pedo Eskimo Brother though

Otto

Ro Khanna is inviting a victim who admits to recruiting 24 other girls to be victimized. Ro so yo yo yo

Com Turren

Looks like Trump is somewhat on time for once in his life. Evidently needs to get this out of the way before the sundowning gets any worse.

Otto

still sharp.
took Al Green less than 10 minutes to be ejected. What a mental case he is.

Com Turren

how do you find the time to reply to my comment amidst all the cumming you’ve been doing for the last hour and a half?

Preston

as a butter knife…

channelbottom
notsurfingtoday

The olympics should be all about Uganda vs. Peru vs Belarus vs San Marino, unstickered boards, national teams bunked up together in cheap accommodation, burning through all the free condoms. This is the true Olympic spirit. Fuck the wsl.

Michael Flatlately

I bet the condoms are being used for some nerdy prep / training recovery thing. At best, a posh prostate tickle.

The Bitchy Crab

Did someone say…peg?

Michael Flatlately

What if it’s like Putin’s poo tin and the athletes are being asked to jack off into rubber joeys, which are securely taken out of the country, so the host nation can’t sample and breed a generation of super Olympians?

Hippy

all the drama over a poorly run “ tour” and a terrible decision to shoe horn the sport into the Olympics

snapper

Elo would have (not) got it done.

Skippy

Why does anyone do (or not do) anything? Because they can! Suck it WSL!!!

Nonagon_Infinity

Fidelio!

notsurfingtoday

Peak kidman

Ian Cairns’ proctologist

cant help but think somewhere JJ is laughing at the state of pro surfing

The Bitchy Crab

Rare to see the boy laugh!

pipspuss

Send in the special envoy of Witkoff and Kushner. Trump will be able to help avert another war.

Gwen Walz’s Eyes

8th or 9th so far? I’m so tired of winning

Sean Connery

Olympic surfing and anything to do with it is so stupid.

Barrelled

Doesn’t that make everything that has to do with competitive surfing stupid?

Sean Connery

Not everything.

NEGATRON

Well it was until they scored Chopes on “that” day.

Gwen Walz’s Eyes

What a day that was! Al Cleland full send out there

Michael Flatlately

Kinda looking forward to LA just to see re-runs of that day. Is there any free footage of day three out there?

NEGATRON

Olympics.com has it all available to watch.

Michael Flatlately

It gives me a paywall

deeks

If you’re on your compooda not phone go into ” inspect element ” choose the paywall frame and delete.

Michael Flatlately

Thanks geeks

The Bitchy Crab

The Kauli Vaast gold medal was pretty cool.

astro

Zactly, mate. The only thing ya gotta do is kick Negs off the judging panel. Oh, I don’t know – maybe give him a job he’s capable of doing. Like looking after the porta loos.

John Smith

Can’t say I don’t enjoy the top pros having to slog it out with the rest of the dregs of global competition surfing in those early ISA rounds.

Gabriel surfing against 3 dudes I’ve never heard of and the 2nd place guy barely clears a 5.5 heat score vs. Gabby’s 18.9 is pretty funny.

RJ

well at least the adult beginners qualifying through the new ISA system get mellow lowers and not chopes

Skol

never forget the german cheeks 🍑

Rich Marx

The ISA is very dishonest here. This isn’t about the best surfers. Everyone knows this. It’s insulting.

If the ISA just came out and said “we want a broader of competitors to help grow the sport” it’s at least somewhat believable.

BograilCutback

Fernando… a dude that wiggles on a longboard and his brother on a funboard, zesty (read: Argentine), macho (read: Argentine) and a larger than life personality (read: Argentine). Part of a small, monied network that floats between America and Argentina. ISA office down the road from me. I’ll find the files a la Watergate.

Barrelled

There is no conspiracy and the ISA should never have been granted recognition as the world governing body of surfing, makes no sense. Ferdodo wants the WSL to go away and be replaced by the ISA. He will do anything to achieve that goal including screwing over the athletes who make it all tick. The guy isa gnat that won’t stop buzzing in your ear.

Michael Flatlately

Barrelled said ‘athletes’

Rocks local

isn’t he the guy who got surfing in the O rings in the first place? don’t really care one way or the other, just seems odd for people to be taking all these shots at him when if it weren’t for him the opportunity wouldn’t even be there.

I may have my history screwed up, as noted haven’t paid much attention

Rocks local

is @Jen See (Disqus) back????


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