Caroline Marks thinks USA Surfing should still guide surfing’s Olympic future. Photo: ISA
A power struggle is brewing behind the scenes of Olympic surfing in the United States. As the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) opens an application process to select the organization to govern surfing in the country, a winter sports federation – U.S. Ski and Snowboard (USSS) – has entered the fray to vie for control of the sport. Team USA’s Olympic surfers are among those who have expressed concern, publicly siding with the previous national governing body, USA Surfing.
The surf power vacuum opened in 2021 when USA Surfing lost its national governing body certification status with USOPC after audits identified governance and financial issues. Specifically, the USOPC-conducted audits criticized lack of oversight of organizational spending, failure to complete an independent financial audit, disallowed funds that USA Surfing had not returned to USOPC, and unpaid debt that was inherited from the previous iteration of the organization called “Surfing America.”
As a result, USA Surfing’s board of directors voluntarily agreed to decertify their status with USOPC in December 2021 to avoid prolonged legal proceedings ahead of surfing’s second Olympic showing at the 2024 Olympics. USOPC managed the USA surf team in the interim while, as USA Surfing understood, they could be reconsidered for certification after rectifying their adverse audit findings.
Now, with the application process open, USA Surfing has applied to regain its Olympic status, but USSS has caught wind of the opportunity to challenge them. At stake is the governance of surfing on the national level – qualification processes, national team selection across all disciplines, organization of national championships, and, of course, development and support for Olympic and Pan American surfers.
Although USSS governs 10 winter sports, they have one connection to the surfing world: Their CEO is Sophie Goldschmidt, who held the same role at the World Surf League (WSL) for three years from 2017 to 2020. The USSS application boldly claims that Goldschmidt’s “experience and relationships in surfing are unmatched from a leadership perspective.”
The USSS application lists several reasons for their interest in controlling surfing. The most telling is the monetary value that the sport would bring.
“From a commercial perspective adding a summer sport to our 10-winter sport portfolio gives us year-round assets and programming to sell,” the application states. “In recent years, our commercial engine has demonstrated its ability to drive significant revenue and by including surfing in our portfolio we’re best set up to drive upside in the commercial business for surfing.”
In USA Surfing’s application, they leaned into their history, experience, and connections in the surf community. They also released a statement that raised concerns over a lack of transparency and fairness in the application process. They ridiculed the USSS application for reference to back-channel conversations with USOPC that promised funding, USOPC breaking precedent by not publicly posting both applications ahead of hearings, and the fact that each organization received a different set of application questions, which USA Surfing claims amounts to “preferential treatment.”
“Why is USSS, with no experience in surfing, being considered?” said USA Surfing. “How can USSS earn surfing’s trust by referencing its expected USOPC funding for its plans to use surfing in service of US Ski’s ‘commercial upside,’ rather than investing its own resources? Why is the surfing community being excluded from critical discussions?”
Throughout the process, USA Surfing has remained the federation recognized by the ISA (as it has been since 1989). They assert that forcing the ISA to recognize USSS would violate U.S. law as per the Ted Stevens Act which prohibits national governing bodies from representing multiple international federations. USSS is already a member of the International Ski Federation.
USA Surfing CEO Becky Fleischauer Jewell acknowledges that their organization needs greater financial support. But she stresses that surfing should be governed by the organization invested in the sport, in all its disciplines – not those who solely seek the value from association and commercialization.
The financial disparity between the two organizations is stark. Over the past four years, USA Surfing has operated on an average annual budget of $870,000. In contrast, USSS reported $61.7 million in annual revenue with 172 full-time staff and 75 contracted athletic trainers.
While USA Surfing faces a significant financial disadvantage, it has the backing of key athletes and organizations. U.S. Olympic surfers signed a joint statement supporting the organization.
“It is of utmost importance for surfers to be represented by an organization that knows us and our sport, and is exclusively dedicated to what we need to be successful,” reads the joint statement. “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,” the statement continued. “This is best achieved through USA Surfing as the national governing body – an organization with leadership who deeply understands, represents, and serves surfers.”
The WSL and ISA echoed the support from star athletes.
“USA Surfing has been critical in supporting U.S. surfers, putting in real, hands-on work to provide resources and development opportunities,” said WSL CEO Ryan Crosby. “The trust they’ve built with surfers and the broader community speaks for itself. We believe their continued leadership is essential in shaping the sport’s future and the next generation of Team USA athletes.”
“The ISA strongly believes that a healthy, independent organization that truly represents the interests of surfers and the sport in the U.S. is essential as we look ahead to the LA28 Olympic Games and beyond,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “That organization is USA Surfing.”
The next phase of the process will take place in April, with USOPC public hearings scheduled to consider the applications of both entities. USA Surfing’s hearing is set for April 10, while USSS’s is set for April 15.
