Surfing has been officially confirmed as an Olympic sport
today, August 3, at a meeting of the international Olympic
Committee. The 2020 Olympics will be held in Japan, in
real waves, far from the dirty waters or Rio – hopefully at
one of their perfect rivermouth breaks during the peak of a
Typhoon swell.
Opinion is divided within the surfing community (when is it
not?) about the merits of our sport's inclusion. We caught
up with ISA President Fernando Aguerre, the co-founder
of Reef, for this exclusive interview on the day he realized
his Olympic dream.
Surfing is officially confirmed as an Olympic sport. Huge
congratulations. You must feel a great deal of personal
and professional satisfaction?
It has truly been an amazing journey for me and the
countless people that came along the way supporting
the cause. I almost feel as though I have spent my whole
life working towards this moment. Most importantly, it
was a huge milestone for our sport and for the global
surfing family. We are thrilled to have realised the Olympic
dream. We are stoked for the millions of surfers around
the world who will be able to chase their own Olympic dreams.
To jump right in: what do you hope Olympic inclusion will
do for surfing?
The extraordinary reach and influence of the Olympic
Movement will have an immediate positive impact on
surfing. Surfing’s increased visibility through the Olympic
platform will allow us to reach millions of new surfers,
especially in many non-traditional surfing countries.
Surfing will bring its healthy lifestyle and core values to
these countries, in addition to providing economic
growth to developing nations through surf tourism.
And can you foresee an increased level of funding for
surfing national bodies / training facilities now surfing
is an Olympic sport?
The majority of Olympic sports around the world are
funded on a national level by the Ministry of Sport
and/or the National Olympic Committee. Now that we
are officially part of the Olympic Program, there is a
huge opportunity for surfing to benefit from this funding,
almost immediately and in the lead up to Tokyo.
We gather the waves will be real and salty rather than
artificial? Have you got any particular waves /areas in mind?
The IOC has confirmed that the surfing competition will
take place on natural waves and we are very pleased with
this decision. Japan has plenty of exposed coastline that
receives quality waves. We are in the process of analyzing
the best options to choose the perfect venue location that
will allow for the surfers to display their talent in quality
waves.
I remember that you guys used our edit of the Wavegarden
in Snowdonia in your Olympic pitch. You think it was this
which put them off using an artificial wave?
The IOC’s and Tokyo’s decision not to consider artificial
waves had nothing to do with the video we presented.
In fact, they loved the video, which did a great job of
conveying the innovative possibilities that wave-pools
create for the future of surfing. The fact is, wave pools
have not been used for Olympic or world championships
level competition until now and the IOC is simply not
going to use a technology – no matter how innovative –
where it has not been used at the highest level of the sport.
We are all excited about the fast progression of this
technology and what the future may hold and the IOC is
fully aware and briefed on its potential so we will continue
to monitor the technology going forward. For now, the
surfing competition in Tokyo will be held in the same
arena in which we have all grown to love the sport, the
same one that has provided surfers with joy forever: the
ocean.
We appreciate details are few at this point but will the
Olympic surfing have a holding period? And have you
considered the format?
As with any major surf contest on natural waves, there
will be a holding period to ensure that the athletes
compete in quality conditions to show the world the
exciting appeal of our sport.
While the contest format is to be determined, the ISA
has over 50 years of experience in this matter. We will
consult with our team of technical experts, in order to
choose the most adequate format considering the best i
nterests of the sport and the surfers.
Obviously the ISA and the WSL have come to an agreement
over working together to bring the surfers to the Olympics,
which is great news for everyone. Can you let us know a
little bit about the agreement?
First, I think it’s important to say that the work and effort
that the ISA has invested over the past decade into the
Olympic campaign has been for the good of all surfing
worldwide and everyone stands to benefit as a result of
this achievement. We are in regular dialogue with the
WSL. They are fully supporting our efforts and this campaign,
recognizing that Olympic participation will add significant
value to them. The ISA and the WSL have different, but
complimentary roles in this process. It’s very important f
or us – as the world governing body recognized by the IOC
and the entity that will continue to interface with the IOC
on all facets of Olympic participation – that we can count
on a solid and mutually respectful working relationship
with the WSL. We are encouraged and optimistic that we
can work together to make this a huge success for everyone.
How will selection work? How many surfers will each country be able to send? And will there be a qualifying mechanism or will world rankings be used?
As the International Federation recognized by the IOC, we are responsible for determining the qualification system, but this won’t really start to be considered until early next year. The IOC first establishes some broad criteria and principles we have to follow and then we work in partnership with the IOC and Tokyo 2020 – also in consultation with the WSL – to create a qualification system that best serves the sport and the surfers. Thanks to our excellent working relationship with the WSL, we will not only create a system that offers the world’s best surfers a chance to compete in Tokyo 2020, but also ensures geographical universality of participation from different continents and countries, which is a fundamental principle in the Olympic Movement.
How do you think it will work with surfing's anti establishment image? There has been a lot of noise about snowboarding becoming 'gymnastics on snow' since its inclusion. Do you think that perhaps keeping it in the ocean will keep surfing: surfing?
I have spoken personally with many of the top surfers in the world from varying cultural backgrounds and they all are super excited about the idea of representing their countries in the Olympics. Gabriel Medina, Johanne Defay, Ace Buchan, Filipe Toledo and Tatiana Weston-Webb, to name a few, have all expressed their support of Olympic surfing. I feel great about the support that we have received from the top athletes and international surf community as a whole.
There have been rumors of waves being destroyed to make way for the 2020 Olympic sailing venue. Have you heard anything about that? And would you lobby the IOC to perhaps rethink its plans - if it were proven to be true?
First of all it’s hard to talk about rumors. We have not heard anything like this, but of course we are a sport closely connected to the environment and the ocean, so we will be sure to work closely with the IOC and Tokyo 2020 to ensure proper environmental protocols are respected.
Congratulations again and is there anything else you would like to add?
This process has been an amazing opportunity for us to advocate and promote our sport, culture and lifestyle, in a world (Olympics) that may not have had a full understanding of the unique value and appeal that we could bring. Thanks to the new, forward thinking leadership of the IOC who have been promoting change and openness to innovation in the last few years, we have had this incredible opportunity to explain and illustrate our sport on the world’s great sporting stage. This is an extraordinary time of renewal and change in the Olympic Movement and we are fortunate to be in a position where there is now a better understanding of the value of surfing. We are convinced the surfing community has also understood that this is a great opportunity.
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