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≡ U.S. NGB BATTLE ≡
When the International Olympic Committee agreed in 2016 to add surfing as an Olympic sport at the request of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, the then-U.S. Olympic Committee had no national governing body for the sport.
It recognized USA Surfing in 2017, but poor financial controls and questionable management led the federation into trouble, including a December 2019 audit which identified 15 specific “high risk” issues and a mid-2020 follow-up which noted:
“While progress has been made in the area of financial capability, USA Surfing did not demonstrate significant improvement. There is little documented oversight of organizational spending and the CEO still has a substantial amount of control over both the disbursement and the receipts process.
“Notably, USA Surfing had yet to complete an independent financial audit at the time of fieldwork and disallowed funds have yet to be paid pack to the USOPC. Additionally, the inherited debt from a prior organization had yet to be disposed of.”
It finally got so bad that in December 2021, USA Surfing and the now-U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee agreed that it would manage elite-level surfing and USA Surfing would be de-certified as the sport’s National Governing Body, and come back when it was ready. At the same time, however, USA Surfing remained the American member federation of the International Surfing Association, which is headquartered in La Jolla, California.
Fast forward five years and the U.S. won surfing golds in the women’s competition at both Tokyo 2020 (Clarissa Moore) and Paris 2024 (Caroline Marks), and USA Surfing was ready to re-apply to be the recognized NGB for surfing in the U.S. The timeline for this is specified in the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act at 36 U.S.C. §220528:
“An application under this section must be filed within one year after the final day of—
“(A) any Olympic Games, for a sport in which competition is held in the Olympic Games or the Paralympic Games, or in each of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan-American Games, and the Parapan American Games;”
USA Surfing filed in February 2025 … but it wasn’t alone.
A competing application to become the U.S. National Governing Body for surfing came from … the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Federation (USSS), also in February, which included:
● “U.S. Ski & Snowboard (“USSS”) seeks to take on the Olympic Surf Team in the United States. The intent is for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (“USOPC”) to transfer the currently internally managed Olympic Surf team to USSS.”
● “No one can support these athletes to help them achieve their Olympic dreams better than USSS, which has a proven, long-term record of high-performance support and podium success for athletes. With the growth and popularity of surfing, it’s critical that a well-managed organization take responsibility to help the sport, and these athletes reach their full potential at the Games, and we are best positioned to do so.”
● “[F]rom a commercial perspective adding a summer sport to our 10-winter sport portfolio gives us year-round assets and programming to sell. 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.”
There’s no comparison between the organizations. U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s corporate beginnings date back to 1905 and was re-named the U.S. Ski Association in 1962 and added snowboard to its name in 2017. USSS said in its application that it expected revenues of $61.7 million for its 2024-25 fiscal year to end on 30 April.
The USA Surfing Federal tax return for calendar year 2023 showed income of $619,304, after $1.14 million in 2022.
Moreover, USSS chief executive Sophie Goldschmidt (GBR) was the chief executive of the professional World Surf League from 2017-21, before leaving for the ski & snowboard governing body.
However, USA Surfing does have a couple of things going for it in this “competition”:
● In-sport support, starting with the International Surfing Association. In its filing with the USOPC, USA Surfing included letters of support from the ISA, from surfers including Marks and Moore, and, interestingly, from the World Surf League.
In its March announcement of its application for re-certification, USA Surfing shared a statement from ISA President Fernando Aguerre (ARG):
“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. That organization is USA Surfing.”
World Surf League chief Ryan Crosby (USA) added:
“USA Surfing has been critical in supporting U.S. surfers, putting in real, hands-on work to provide resources and development opportunities. 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 Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act, at 36 U.S.C. §220522 requires that a U.S. National Governing Body can be certified only if it, inter alia:
“(6) demonstrates that it is a member of no more than one international sports federation that governs a sport included on the program of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan-American Games, or the Parapan American Games;”
The one-sport NGB concept was a core component of the 1978 Amateur Sports Act, which elevated the then-U.S. Olympic Committee as the central governing force in the U.S. Olympic Movement and forced organizations which had been governing multiple sports – such as the Amateur Athletic Union – to be broken up into single-sport entities. In this way, wrestlers could decide what was good for wrestlers, skiers for skiers and so on, based on the structures of the International Federations recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
So, to assign surfing, governed by the ISA, to USSS, already a member of the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) looks to be precluded by this section. The USSS application did not mention it … but the USA Surfing application noted it clearly.
A USA Surfing announcement said that it had presented its case at a public hearing last week, and that the USSS public hearing was scheduled for Tuesday; the Stevens Act requires that the USOPC decide what to do within 30 days, by 15 May.
Even then, the loser can appeal the USOPC’s finding to arbitration.
So, for now, hang loose?
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