The L.A. Summer Olympics are less than three years away, but a related competition over which organization will oversee Olympic surfing is already heating up.
San Clemente, which will host Olympic surfing in 2028 at Lower Trestles, backed local nonprofit USA Surfing with a resolution in support of its bid to govern the sport. Headquartered in San Clemente, the group faces a challenge from U.S. Ski & Snowboard in Park City, Utah.
Ahead of a pending decision by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the San Clemente City Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of the local organization on Tuesday.
“Surfing, like all Olympic sports, should be governed by an entity that is singularly focused on the betterment of the sport, understands every aspect of the sport and provides the best opportunity for success (in all its forms) of the athletes,” it argued in support of USA Surfing.
The resolution further claimed that federal law mandates a governing body must also be a member of an International Federation governing the sport; USA Surfing has been recognized by the International Surfing Assn. for decades.
Millions in potential funding are at stake as the L.A. Summer Olympics will cement surfing’s status as a core sport after having been a provisional competition in the past two games.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard applied in February to be the governing body of the U.S. Olympic Surf Team, arguing that it can provide Olympic surf athletes with the opportunity to be a “more integral part of Team USA.”
The organization is already the governing body for 10 winter sports and 240 winter sport athletes. It reported $62 million in revenue, with $17.5 million coming from commercial partnerships.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard outlined a plan that would include the hiring of a “sport leader” focused on surfing to hire coaches and lead the athletes. Chief executive Sophie Goldschmidt is also touted as a former CEO of the World Surf League and maintains many contacts within the organization and is well-networked with the International Surfing Assn.
San Clemente surfer and Paris gold medalist Caroline Marks has also publicly backed USA Surfing’s bid.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Its application to oversee Olympic surfing prompted protest from a coalition calling itself “Stop the Skijacking — Keep Surf in Surfing.”
Coalition members spoke out during the San Clemente council meeting on Aug. 5, urging councilmembers to back USA Surfing publicly.
“What’s happening right now is a threat, not just to a sport, but to a culture, a local economy and the future of American surfing,” said Vipe Desai, executive director of the Surf Industry Members Assn. “U.S. Ski & Snowboard is trying to take control of Olympic surfing, including its governance and commercial rights. We must ensure the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee does not allow this to happen.”
San Clemente Mayor Steve Knoblock held up a letter that all councilmembers later signed during the meeting. Dated Aug. 5, the letter to the committee framed U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s bid as a takeover.
“It would appear that their plan would only extract Olympic revenue and recognition from San Clemente and the broader surf ecosystem, without reinvesting in the athletes, the sport or this special place that makes U.S. surfing so great,” it read.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard did not respond to a TimesOC request for comment.
The battling bids over Olympic surfing traces back to a power vacuum created four years ago.
USA Surfing, known then as Surfing America, served as the sport’s governing body from 2017 until December 2021 when it voluntarily decertified following a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee audit that found it mismanaged governance and finances.
The sport was overseen internally during the Paris Summer Olympics last year.
In its February application to regain governing status, USA Surfing claimed that new management, staff and policies rectified the audit’s past findings.
“We are the only organization in the best position to be the [governing body] for surfing, the sport that USA Surfing serves,” the application read. “We are surfing. And the athletes are our priority.”
San Clemente’s Candice Appleby, the most decorated woman stand-up paddler, addressed the City Council on Tuesday from her perspective as a USA Surfing board member and a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee athlete representative for the sport of surfing.
“What athletes want most is a national governing body that truly knows surfing, listens to surfers and puts their needs first,” she said. “Surfers already face the unpredictable—challenging ocean conditions, intense travel and the pressure to perform. What they need from their leadership is stability, consistency and a clear voice that advocates for their development and well-being. USA Surfing has provided that voice.”
After a series of hearings, a decision is expected by the end of the year.