Adaptive surfing needs to be in the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics
The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place in Los Angeles, California. It’s a very special moment for the sport of surfing.
The Golden State is the crib of surf culture.
After crossing the Pacific from the Hawaiian Islands to the West Coast of the USA in the early decades of the 20th century, the religious, spiritual, and noble outdoor pastime became a sport and a lifestyle.
Surfing is also the official state sport of California and the heart of a global multi-billion industry.
September 20 has forever been declared California Surfing Day.
For the third consecutive time in its history, wave riders will compete for Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals in the high-performance waves of the sun-kissed sand strips.
Surfing is coming home to celebrate its century of stoke in historical waters.
Shocking News
However, the news that the Los Angeles 2028 Organising Committee decided not to propose para surfing in the Paralympic Games was a disappointing surprise.
The resolution is particularly disheartening, given that a surfboard fin – designed by Alex Israel – was included in the official LA 2028 Olympics and Paralympics logo roster.
If there is a sport that can beautifully highlight the spirit, the values, and the strength of inclusive Olympism is adaptive surfing.
Para surfers are capable of outstanding, inspiring performances across all divisions, with more or less physical and cognitive challenges and limitations.
The annual ISA World Para Surfing Championships, run consistently by the International Surfing Association (ISA), is an example of sportsmanship, bravery, and talent.
The event and its organizers are a role model for other parasports.
“It’s been amazing to witness the growth of the sport as it has expanded and strengthened exponentially each year under our leadership,” noted Fernando Aguerre, the ISA president.
“Para surfers are amazing athletes, full of hope and resilience in the face of life’s challenges.”
Record-Breaking Petition
It’s not too late to add para surfers to the Los Angeles 2028 lineup.
The decision not to host Paralympic surfing’s debut in California was apparently due to the operation’s “financial complexity” and the “difficulty in finding a location.”
As for the location, Huntington Beach, Surf City USA, has already hosted the ISA World Para Surfing Championship a few times, with no issues reported.
The organizing structure and logistics for this type of event are also simple and inexpensive – just ask ISA how to do it.
Furthermore, the surfing and para surfing audience is incomparably larger compared to the parasports included in the LA 2028 Paralympic program.
An online petition has been set up to lobby for the inclusion of four adaptive surfing disciplines or classes:
- Standing;
- Kneeling;
- Sitting/Wave Ski;
- Prone Assisted;
The initial goal of 10,000 signatures was quickly achieved, extended to 15,000, and then to 25,000, which will also be reached.
Get Para Surfers On
If adaptive surfers can’t get a shot at the Olympics in California, the capital of modern surfing, where else does it make sense?
Kelly Slater, the most successful surfer ever and one of the all-time greatest athletes, supports the inclusion of parasurfing in Los Angeles 2028.
The Floridian, along with five-time ISA para surfing world champion Victoria Feige, has publicly expressed the need for the entire wave-riding community to gather around this historic moment.
Surfer and musician Jack Johnson also joined the list of influential voices backing up surfing’s double Olympic participation in the Golden State.
It’s now or never, LA2028 – other parasports can certainly wait four years. Let’s do the right thing.
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com
