USA Surfing Defeats U.S. Ski and Snowboard in Battle for Olympic Control

Following a fraught, and oftentimes controversial, battle of control for surfing’s future in the Olympic Games, USA Surfing has emerged victorious over U.S. Ski and Snowboard, who had attempted a coup to take over domination of surfing on the big stage.

Why a ski and snowboarding federation might want to control surfing in the Olympics? Good question. And one that’s still vague and convoluted.

Regardless, USA Surfing fought hard to maintain control of their sport in the Olympic Games, and they came out victorious. See below for the celebrations.

Long story short: U.S. Ski and Snowboard had attempted to take control of Olympic surfing, under the helm of former World Surf League CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. Their claim was that they had the “experience and relationships in surfing are unmatched from a leadership perspective.”

But skiing and snowboarding are completely separate sports from surfing, right? Last we checked, the answer was “yes.”

Per a press release from USA Surfing:

“The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) today certified USA Surfing as the National Governing Body (NGB) for Olympic surfing in the United States, unlocking what every American surfer, coach, and coastal community has been working toward: a fully resourced, surfer-led Olympic program competing at home for the LA28 Olympic Games at Lower Trestles.

“USA Surfing arrives at this moment ready, with a committed high-performance investment, a surfer-built talent pipeline that has helped produce back-to-back Olympic gold medals. The team will hit the ground running with the full support of the sport's international federation, the International Surfing Association (ISA), the World Surf League (WSL), top professional surfers and former Olympians, the surf industry, and an unprecedented bipartisan coalition of elected leaders.”

In a joint statement from surfing Olympians Caroline Marks, Carissa Moore, Griffin Colapinto, Caity Simmers, Kolohe Andino, they said:

“It is of utmost importance for surfers to be represented by the organization that knows us and our sport, and is exclusively dedicated to what we need to be successful. We also believe it is imperative to preserve the close connection and mentorship between developing talents and the pros on tour who will compete at the next Olympic Games.

“Surfers must have a strong voice and receive proper world-class support to improve and achieve peak performances. This is best achieved through USA Surfing as the National Governing Body – an organization with new leadership who deeply understands, represents, and serves surfers.”

Congrats, USA Surfing. Next stop, Lower Trestles for the LA28 Games. Onwards.