USA Surfing gets new financial backing in a bid to be recertified for its hometown Olympics

LOS ANGELES (AP) – USA Surfing says it has secured a multimillion-dollar endowment as part of its push to be recertified as the nascent Olympic sport’s national governing body after losing its status four years ago over financial issues.

USA Surfing executive director Becky Fleischauer told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the investment is a major step toward the organization’s goal to return to the Olympic movement.

“We have a new board, new leadership, and we’ve been delivering more value to our surfers than has ever been provided in the past,” Fleischauer said. “There’s a lot of energy. This investment is a declaration of confidence in the future of surfing from those who know it best.”

USA Surfing has struck multiyear deals for financial backing from Kamaka Responsible Development, which builds housing communities, and with Orange County-based surf company Resin Services. Kamaka also plans to develop a wave pool that can be used for year-round training for USA Surfing athletes.

Fleischauer spoke from the USA Surfing Championship at Lower Trestles, the iconic surf break near San Clemente, California, that will also host the Los Angeles Olympics surfing competition in 2028. USA Surfing, which is based in San Clemente, has crowned its under-18 national champions at Trestles for decades.

“Trestles is our backyard,” Fleischauer said. “It’s where our surfers train. It’s where our coaches coach. It’s really a global hub for surfing, and we reside right here, so that puts us in a really strong position to know our surfers, know our break, and to be able to lift up the entire community by having the Olympics here.”

Surfing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021, but USA Surfing had already run into trouble with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee by then over numerous concerns about the organization’s financial management. USA Surfing voluntarily decertified as the sport’s national governing body in December 2021, although it remained the American representative to the International Surfing Association.

USA Surfing is reapplying to be the NGB again, but the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Federation has also applied to manage the Olympic surf team. The well-funded winter sports organization is run by Sophie Goldschmidt, the former chief executive of the World Surf League.

One governing body managing multiple sports is an accepted practice in some countries, but hasn’t been the norm in the U.S. Olympic movement since the Amateur Sports Act in 1978.

The USOPC is evaluating both groups’ filings and is expected to resolve the situation within the next few months.

While Ski & Snowboard has ample Olympics experience, USA Surfing has the backing of the ISA and even the World Surf League itself, according to its filing with the USOPC. U.S. Olympic gold medalists Caroline Marks and Carissa Moore were among several top surfers who submitted letters of support for USA Surfing.

USA Surfing has kept operating without funding from the USOPC since its decertification, still staging competitions and aiding American surfers in their preparation for international events. The body has since made large changes to its leadership, appointing Fleischauer and adding several new members to its board of directors in January 2024.