Surfing qualified to became an Olympic sport in 2016, and makes its Olympic Games debut this week. But getting there was a fraught decades-long process. Here is a brief look at some of the ups and downs, starts and stops along the way, as seen in surf magazine excerpts. Follow links, below, to full-text articles.


The superlative organization of the [1964 World Contest, help in Sydney], surf-wise and crowd-wise, put surfing at an all-time high in Australian public acceptance. If other countries could benefit similarly from contests of the type, it shouldn't be too long before the World body—the International Surfing Federation—has surfing entered on the Olympic calendar.

"The Next Milestone," Patrick McNulty, SURFER, December 1966


What is the next surfing milestone? John Kelly, veteran Hawaiian surfer and long-time pioneer in the sport, puts it in three words: The Olympic Games. "I have already made preliminary contact with officials of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), and I think the outlook for surfing being accepted into the Olympics by 1972 is excellent," said Kelly." 

"The Olympics at Last," Gary Filosa SURF, Summer 1977


It is the amateur surfer who is the future of surfing. We can be an Olympic sport by 1984. 

"World Contest: Surfing's 1984 Olympic Bid," Surfing, June 1984


Officials of the International Surfing Association, the governing body of international amateur surfing, and the United States Surfing Federation had concurring notions about the size, scale and importance of the '84 World Surfing Championships. After all, this was an Olympics year and if amateur surfing could be made to seem dignified and significant enough to impress the Olympic officials that would be in town, then there would be a big chance that surfing might soon become recognized by the International Olympic Committee: a burning desire of amateur surfing


United States Surfing Federation president Dr. Colin Couture, speaking at a USSF board meeting, announced that measures toward making surfing an Olympic event are currently underway. In May of 1987, the International Surfing Association (ISA) will become a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as surfing takes a giant step toward a spot in the Pan American Games. Couture added a note of optimism that surfing could become a demonstration event as early as the 1992 Olympics, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain.

"Why Not the Olympics?" Jamie Reno, Surfing, September 1992


Michele Verdier, the director of information for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), says surfing simply does not meet the requirements needed to achieve Olympic status. In order to be granted medal status in the Summer Games, she says, a sport must be practiced competitively by men in 75 countries on four continents, and/or by women in 40 countries on three continents. Surfing isn’t—or so she says. A sport also must have a recognized and established international organizing group or groups. Surfing doesn’t—or so she says. “There have been some efforts before to get surfing into the Olympics, most recently in 1984, but it just does not meet all the requirements,” says Verdier. "The IOC is currently reviewing all sports in the Olympic Games, and there are going to be some changes. Some sports could be dropped, others added. But I don’t believe surfing has the international organization or the mobilization to make it as a medal sport in the Games.” 

"Surfing and the Olympics," Steve Pezman, Surfer's Journal, Winter 1995


The revitalized International Surfing Association has been marketing its new membership drive in print ads that cry out, “Join and Help Us Make Surfing an Olympic Sport.” Pardon me, but I think this is a dose of misplaced zeal. There are plenty of good reasons to join ISA but not that one. The reality is that there is little or no chance for surfing to even be an Olympic sport ever, anywhere. And my response to that reality check is, "Thank God." The Olympics can be a harsh and politically corrupt arena, rife with all the crap we go surfing to escape, so why bend surfing to fit into their mold for the "good of the sport?" Haven’t we tapped the source enough in our lifetimes? Can’t we leave a little vestige of the soul intact? 

"Equal Time: Olympics," Fernando Aguerre, Surfer's Journal, Spring 1996


Here at the ISA, we are a determined group. We think surfing has paid its dues and deserves to be included in the longest-running, highest-regarded, most-watched sporting event in the world—the Olympic Games. There is always someone [in surfing] that wants to compare themselves to somebody else, hence competition. The new push for Olympic surfing is one that will bring better and happier times for everybody in our beloved sport. 

"Surfing's Olympic Dream Shattered," Fred Pawl, Australia's Surfing Life, February 1997


Surfing never, not even for a second, stood a chance of being included in the Sydney Games. This was confirmed at an IOC meeting in Mexico in November when the official Olympic program was released. Which begs the question: why bother? Surfing already has its pinnacle—the WCT World Title—which is decided over a swag of events in a variety of good quality waves from all over the planet. Compared to this, a gold medal decided over two weeks in what would probably be shit surf may as well come tumbling out of your Corn Flakes box. 

"A Few Words with Fernando," Surf News, December 2000


QUESTION: What has become of your quest to get surfing into the Olympics? FERNANDO AGUERRE: The Olympics is like an expedition to Mars. At one time it seemed so far-fetched, but now I realize it's just a fucking long road. But if you go step by step, you can get almost anywhere.

THE LONG WARM-UP: SURFING AND THE OLYMPICS – A PRINT MEDIA TIMELINE

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