With more than 5 years to prepare, the worlds surfing community is this week thinking a long way ahead, to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Put forward by the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, surfing joins the sports of skateboarding, karate, sports climbing, and baseball/softball to be contested in the 2020 Olympics. If selected as an Olympic sport, 20 men, and 20 women will participate in what could be the worlds highest profile surfing comp - possibly even surfing man-made waves! Head of the ISA (International Surfing Association), Fernando Aguerre has been campaigning for the sports inclusion for years, and before him, his predecessor Jacques Hele was pushing the Olympic committee since 1992. Notably stoked on the announcement this week, Aguerre released a statement to the worlds media. "Surfing is truly a global sport, more popular and more widely practiced than many current Olympic sports. Surfing is pursued in every corner of the world, in more than a hundred countries. There are now over 35 million surfers worldwide! Surfers are a strong and positive influence on young people around the world. They are a very relevant part of our youth culture and serve as inspirational figures, naturally representing Olympic values." A strong advocate for wave pools being used in Olympic competition, Aguerre commented on their long-lasting benefits to local communities, should they be built in olympic cities. The other benefits of providing a consistent wave for all competitors is obvious, although many are crying that although consistent, the waves are not a true representation of 'real-world' conditions, and favour surfers spending hour upon hour in the pools, and not the beach. Interestingly, Wakeboarding was listed in the list of proposed sports for the 2020 games. This happened back in 2011, before being knocked out by Squash, Baseball/Softball and Wrestling. With one of those three taking the single open spot, it was thought that the surfing olympic dream was over for another four years. Thanks to the ISA's campaigning, and a new shift in the Olympic policy, the games are transitioning to an 'event' based program rather than sport based. With the shift came some new rules allowing the local Organising body to allow new events, and among the proposed additions- Surfing! The final decision will be made by August 2016, when the worlds elite surfers will either pack their bags and head for the nearest wave-pool, or give up on the Olympic dream for another 4 years, and head back to the lineup... What's your opinion on surfing's possible inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olypmic games? Have your say in the Seabreeze.com.au Surfing forums.

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