We don’t know the back story, but apparently USA Surfing bungled their first go-round with the US Olympic Committee during the Tokyo Olympics. Now they’d like to be reconsidering as the official governing body for surfing for the LA28 games.
According to a Laylan Connelly story in the Orange County Register they have some competition for the job. Seems the US Ski & Snowboard Association (which has no experience with surfing but much with the Oluympics) would also like a shot at owning surfing in the Olymipics . . . ah, because they’d like the money most likely.
While USSSA may have no experience with surfing, their CEO has (at least for a year). Many will remember Sophie Goldschmidt as the CEO of the World Surf League for a minute before Oprah Winfrey’s boy took over. She believes her ski and snowboard organization is the perfect group to shepherd surfing through the LA Games in 2028.
“We feel that surfers have not been supported, in the same way that we would propose to, in the past,” Goldschmidt said. “And now, we can provide them with more of that support and the structure, the leadership and the strong backing of a large and growing organization, which is in a very good place financially as well. . . . They need high-performance environments, clear pathways to the Olympics, and the ability to build their personal brands, she said. “That’s what we provide, and we know it works.”
Sure, there are dozens of reasons why all these options are terrible, but in the end shouldn’t surfing be run by surfers? Or, as some would argue is Olympic surfing even surfing? For all the details, click the link.
[Link: Orange County Register]
