Surfers are continuing to makes waves in the news. This week some articles are focused on the Australian Open while several stories about surfing in the Olympics have created ripples throughout the surfing industry.
Last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) put surfing on a shortlist for consideration for the 2020 Olympic Games. There has been much debate about whether or not the inclusion would be good for the sport or not.
Surfing is a sport with a deep history that dates back to 1885 when Hawaiian princes traveled on local redwood “surf boards.” The first professional surfing contest was held in 1926 at the Pacific Coast Surfing Championships in Corona Del Mar, California which was organized by surfing legend Tom Blake.
It wasn’t until the late 1950s and 60s when surfing started to grow popularity. Surfing movies like “Gidget and “Beach Blanket Bingo,” helped the sport evolve and surfing began to influence fashion, music and other board sports, like skateboarding.
Surfing contests, like the Quicksilver Pro New York, now offer contest purses up to $1 million dollars. Some of the world’s most famous surfers enjoy a comfortable living, traveling the world, staying in the
nicest hotels and compete in as many contests as they can.
Surfing legends like Gerry Lopez, Kelly Slater and Tom Carroll are all supportive of surfing being included in the Olympics.
In an article in the Reuters, Lopez says: “The art of riding waves is something that we all can enjoy, not just if you surf but also if you watch."
Putting surfing on the World Stage at the Olympics is something that should have already happened, according to Carroll.
In the same article, Slater says that that the thought of surfing being included in the Olympics is huge, but he also poses a valid question, “what’s the purpose of (surfing) being in the Olympics? I don’t know if it’s necessary.”
In late 2011, the IOC announced they will include action sports events, freeskiing halfpipe, freeskiing slopestyle and snowboarding slopestyle in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Snowboarding halfpipe is the action sports event that has been welcomed at the Olympics the longest- since 1998. It’s apparent that the IOC has accepted the idea of non- conventional, action sports in the Olympics.
However, the biggest difference between snowboarding and skiing being included in the Olympics are that they were considered new “disciplines,” not completely “new sports” which is one of the hurdles surfing faces.
The final decision to include surfing in the Olympics won’t happen until 2013.
