Cover shot: Japan 2020 Olympic finalists, Kanoa Igarashi, Italo Ferreira and Owen Wright.
A new qualification process for surfing in the LA 2028 Olympics has caused a divide in the surfing world, especially amongst the CT surfers.
Announced last week, the Olympic qualification process will now see less spots available for Championship Tour surfers, which has been cut from 20 in previous Olympics games, down to 10 spots.
Those vocal about the change include current world champion Yago Dora. “We don’t want an easier pathway to qualify than the rest of the surfers,” Yago told Reuters over the weekend. “We just wanted it to be fair, and we want to make sure that all the best surfers are representing their nations in the Olympics.”
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Now, speaking to Wavelength, Afri Adun, who is one of seven athletes who make up the International Surfing Association’s Athletes’ Commission – set up to represent athletes voices within in the Olympic Movement, clarified some of the noise around the changes.
“I wouldn’t say the new Olympic qualification pathway has “split surfing down the middle,” he told Wavelength. “A more accurate version is; some CT surfers reacted strongly and critically at first, especially because the CT now offers fewer direct qualification spots than before. That reaction is real and understandable. But once you look past the headline, the picture is more nuanced. And if I can be slightly cheeky; social media is an excellent place to debate fins, but not necessarily a qualification architecture.”
Afri says the disagreement is more about the route athletes are poised to take, not the destination. And the timing of selection from the CT creates understandable concerns about fairness and consistency.
“But there’s another side to this that got lost in the noise; The Olympic field is still 48 surfers total. The national cap increases to three surfers per gender per National Olympic Committee (up from two). And qualification is distributed across CT, ISA World Surfing Games, continental events, team slots, host places, and universality places.
“So if someone says, “This means fewer elite surfers can qualify,” I’d say nope, that’s too simplistic. It means fewer can qualify through one specific doorway (the CT ranking), but there are still multiple doors — and for some top surfing nations, potentially more total room in the house. If CT surfers don’t qualify via the CT route, they can still qualify through ISA and continental pathways (depending on nationality, quota status, and eligibility). And because the per-nation cap rises to three, deep surf nations may still send more elite surfers overall than before. So the honest version is: harder to qualify “automatically” via pro tour status alone, but still very possible to qualify — and in some scenarios, more likely for elite nations to stack stronger and bigger teams.”
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Afri said the new format was discussed with a range of different stakeholders too. “From the surfing side, the ISA Board was responsible for developing and submitting the proposal to the IOC. But that proposal was not shaped in isolation. The decision-making process involved discussions with a range of stakeholders and included input from different parts of the sport — including the ISA Athletes’ Commission.”
As for other surfers? “It’s difficult to satisfy everyone, but I find the new system more appropriate,” said France’s Justine Dupont. It gives more strength back to the national federations. As in previous Olympic Games, surfers will have the opportunity to qualify through the professional circuit (WSL) as well as through the World Surfing Games (WSG). It will also ensure that every surfer has to compete at their full potential during the WSG, avoiding unfair situations like those seen in the past. The Olympic champion and the bronze medalist from Paris 2024 secured their qualification through the WSG.
This new system also allows each country to qualify up to three athletes, which was not the case before.”
However, Italy-based CT surfer Leo Fioravanti said that the 2027 CT world champion has no guarantee in the Olympics: “Completely disagree with this qualification system,” he said via Instagram. “The qualification system in the last 2 Olympics worked perfect. Having 10 surfers from the WSL world tour was the best way to make sure the best surfers in the world made it to the Olympics. Now the 2027 WSL world champion isn’t event guaranteed to compete in the Olympics To be clear, on behalf of the WSL surfers, we tried to communicate with the ISA to find the best solution for everyone but the ISA was not willing to work with any of the WSL surfers. I don’t think this is the way to move forward and make our sport better not only for our generation but for future generations.”
How this looks in the future? Afri says the pathway now creates meaningful Olympic relevance across a multitude of events. “That means qualification drama won’t live only on the CT,” said Afri. “What I feel strongly about is tone. Athletes should absolutely speak up, that’s healthy. But the Olympics are not built only for the most visible or most commercially powerful athletes in a sport. They are also about national representation, global development, and access to a dream that extends beyond one elite circuit.”
Qualification Process
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What’s your opinion? Should the CT Surfers be given more spaces in the Olympics? Sound off in the comments. Or email [email protected]
