ISA World Surfing Games hit Surf City; will Olympics follow?
Could the ISA World Surfing Games, which started Friday and continue through Sept. 24 on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, be a test run for possible Olympic surfing in six years?
Visit Huntington Beach President and CEO Kelly Miller hopes that is the case, as the Olympics return to Los Angeles in 2028.
“There weren’t spectators in 2020, and we’re in a little bit of a remote place in 2024,” Miller said. “I think 2028 will give the opportunity for the families, competitors, the whole world to come and experience the Games. Surfing brings a whole new energy to the Games, and I think if we want to amplify that and grow that, I think Huntington Beach should be certainly one of the sites that is strongly considered by LA 2028.”
It was easy to have the Olympics on the mind as surfers from dozens of countries descend on Surf City. Huntington Beach is hosting the World Surfing Games for the first time since 2006 and fourth time overall.
Visit HB is serving as host for the event, which is the first Olympic qualifier for this cycle as surfers eye Paris in 2024.
A press conference was held at Visit HB headquarters downtown Friday morning featuring Miller, ISA President Fernando Aguerre, Team USA surfer Kolohe Andino and Team Australia surfer Sally Fitzgibbons.
“We thought about this day four or five years ago when we designed this office,” Miller joked. “You walk in the door and you’ll see five rings of light. That’s all I’m saying.”
A few hours later, athletes from each country paraded down Main Street toward Pier Plaza, where the opening ceremonies were held.
The amount of talent on hand impresses. Huntington Beach native Kanoa Igarashi, a silver medalist at last year’s inaugural Olympic surfing event in Tokyo, is competing for Team Japan this week.
Andino, who is from San Clemente, and Fitzgibbons were also Olympic surfers last summer. Andino advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Igarashi, while Fitzgibbons also fell in the women’s quarterfinals.
“Being honest, more than surfing needs the Olympics, I think the Olympics need surfing,” Andino said. “I think the Olympics are pretty stale and boring, and that surfing is the best sport in the world. You add surfing to the Olympics, I think more people will watch it.”
Fitzgibbons, a veteran of the tour at age 31, said she first stepped foot in the sand at Huntington Beach nearly two decades ago. She’s stoked to compete in this latest ISA team competition, as well, and she made an analogy to tennis.
“We’re seeing the likes of Roger Federer wrap up his career,” Fitzgibbons said. “You look at that, and you’re like, how do you wrap up such a significant body of work? He’s going back to the Laver Cup, a team event, and there’s something about that. It’s really significant. You’re competing for something greater than yourself, and you really do connect to probably why you started surfing, those feelings and that energy. I think it’ll be a great week.”
The nation that has the most points at the conclusion of both men’s and women’s competition next Saturday will earn an automatic Olympic slot for their country, Aguerre said. The surfer who actually fills that slot can be decided by the country at a later time.
Huntington Beach’s Peter “PT” Townend, from Australia, was one of the best surfers in the world in the 1970s and 1980s. He also attended the press conference, and asked Andino and Fitzgibbons if they would try to qualify again for the Olympic Games.
Andino was quick to respond.
“100%,” he said. “That’s like asking me if the sun’s going to come up tomorrow.”
The ISA World Surfing Games open men’s competition starts Saturday morning, while the women’s competition begins Monday so it doesn’t interfere with this weekend’s Super Girl event in Oceanside. The other surfers competing for Team USA include Griffin Colapinto of San Clemente and Nat Young of Santa Cruz on the men’s side, while Gabriela Bryan of Hawaii, Zoe McDougall of Hawaii and Kirra Pinkerton of San Clemente vie on the women’s side.
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