Finally, Olympic Drama Comes to an End for USA Surfing

A welcome development in the long saga of USA Surfing, the US Ski Team has officially dropped its bid to govern surfing at LA28. We first reported on this long ago, with a strong op-ed on how US Ski Needs to Keep Its Kooky Hands off USA Surfing.

The details of the deal were essentially that US Ski would get the benefit of representing USA Surfing’s top athletes, the Olympic Qualifiers, while owing nothing to the developmental pipeline of the program. In an Olympic powerhouse like the United States, such a move was entirely unprecedented as no winter discipline has ever managed a summer discipline.

Rival surfing nations like France, Australia, and Brazil, all have their own dedicated governing bodies that work to ensure the entire pipeline is benefitted by the success of the top athletes. The issue at stake was that whoever governs the national team for the games stands to gain millions of dollars for training and development efforts. 

Becky Fleischauer, CEO of USA Surfing said, “From the start, our focus has been simple: doing what’s best for surfers and the future of surfing. That remains our north star. We’re committed to developing talent, supporting athletes at every level, and strengthening the sport well beyond the final heats.” 

As there are two sides to every story, the US Ski said it only had the best intentions at heart and, despite their efforts, accused USA Surfing of choosing “public attacks and uninformed legal threats instead of constructive dialogue and engagement.” While US Ski claimed to have several surf athletes support their bid, not one surfer ever came out on record in their favor. 

USA Surfing has had some bumps in the road since the Olympic debut in the 2020 Tokyo Games. In 2021, it voluntarily decertified itself as the official governing body in order to straighten out its management and structure following issues the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) had with the reporting of funds. Since taking the reins as CEO, Fleischauer has dedicated herself to developing USA Surfing in a way that is best for the athletes and in line with all the expectations of a dedicated National Governing Body (NGB). 

“Surfing by its nature teaches humility, responsiveness, and respect,” Fleischauer said. “That mindset guides our approach to governance: listen, understand conditions, and take action that supports surfers. We’ve listened to the USOPC, to surfers, to the ISA, and leaders across our community, and we’ve aligned our organization with what surfers need for podium success. The unique opportunity of an Olympic Games at our home break should be fully realized in 2028 and then reinvested into the long-term strength of the sport.”

Testimony from Athletes’ Commission representative, Candice Appleby, touched upon the importance of keeping leadership unified throughout the stages of progression, ““As surfers, we know the organization that has been with us from youth contests to ISA World Championships to the Olympic podium—and that organization is USA Surfing. Those relationships build confidence, stability, and trust. It is a proven formula: USA Surfing plus U.S. surfing athletes equals medals.”

Olympic Coach Brett Simpson said, “Every Olympic medal U.S. surfers have won so far has come through this pipeline and this coaching culture. With new resources coming in, we’re not starting from scratch – we’re leveling up a system surfers already trust.”

Simpson, a pro surfer himself, specifically elaborated on trust, “That kind of trust comes from years in the water and on the sand together, not just showing up every four years. To ignore that, or hand surfing over to a group with no real connection to the sport, would break trust—and we may not get it back.”

That is the ultimate conclusion because no aspiring American surfer would have any reason to trust a program that was managed by those without any connection to the sport or to the community. USA Surfing is fully committed to the responsibility of being the NGB and, with a bit of luck, will deliver more Gold medals in front of the home crowd at LA28.