SURFING: World champion says many top tour surfers unhappy with Olympic qualification tweaks

World champion Yago Dora and other leading surfers have voiced criticism of the sport's Olympic governing body over changes to the qualification system for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, calling the new system flawed and saying their concerns were ignored.

The International Surfing Association (ISA) announced last week that the number of surfers qualifying from the privately owned World Surf League (WSL) championship tour will drop to 10, down from 20.

“We don’t want an easier pathway to qualify than the rest of the surfers,” Dora said in an interview with Reuters from Hawaii on Sunday. “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.”

Under the new system, 20 surfers—10 men and 10 women—will qualify through the ISA’s 2028 World Surfing Games, maintaining the total Olympic field at 48 surfers. The remaining athletes will qualify through regional ISA events, with the maximum number of surfers per country increasing from two to three.

Only one man and one woman per country will be selected from the professional tour, a decrease from two in the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games. Selections from the world tour will occur in June 2028, early in the year’s tour, meaning the 2027 world champions might miss the Olympics.

“The Olympics is the greatest single event in professional surfing. Wouldn’t you want the best surfers to have the best chance at qualifying?” Italian Olympic and WSL surfer Leonardo Fioravanti wrote on social media. “The proposal that has been accepted today doesn’t even guarantee the 2027 world champion competing in the Olympics.”

Dora added that tour surfers had provided feedback and sought compromise with the ISA, but the organization “disappeared on us” and proceeded with the changes.

ISA Responds

ISA Executive Director Robert Fasulo said consultations were held with multiple stakeholders, including the WSL and national federations, and that a championship tour surfer contributed to the updated system. He argued the new system increases opportunities for top surfers while maintaining the Olympic value of universality.

“There is actually more potential with the increase from two to three athletes per nation,” Fasulo said in an email. “There are more pathways with the new system. Let’s not forget that the men’s 2024 Olympic champion and bronze medallist both qualified through the ISA World Surfing Games.”

At the 2024 ISA World Surfing Games, Tahitian surfer Kauli Vaast, representing France, won gold at Teahupo’o, while Brazil’s three-time world champion Gabriel Medina took third after securing last-minute qualification in Puerto Rico.

Timing Concerns

Dora highlighted concerns over the timing of selections from the tour, which will occur after only four events in 2028, three of which are in Australia. “If they are giving out those five spots, they should give it the most fair way possible—that would be counting the full year of 2027,” he said, emphasizing the importance of consistency over the tour season.

ISA athletes’ commission chair Justine Dupont said the new system strengthens national federations while still giving surfers multiple qualification pathways. “It’s difficult to satisfy everyone, but I find the new system more appropriate,” Dupont said. “As a fan of surfing, I am convinced that we will see the best surfers competing in the waves of LA 2028.” -Reporting by Lincoln Feast in Sydney; Editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters