Surfing Will be An Olympic Sport in 2020!!!!
If only the International Olympic Committee had made this landmark decision 4 years earlier! But that's cool, Japan has good waves too. What decision you ask? Oh yeah, casually dropped this week was a bombshell to rival the one dropped Hiroshima itself all those years ago…
Surfing will be an Olympic sport in 2020, at the Tokyo Olympic Games!
Alongside Skateboarding, yes skateboarding! Surfing will join Rock Climbing, Softball and Baseball as fully fledged Olympic sports for the games. Aimed at bringing younger athletes to the games, these sports aren't binding for future Olympic venues at the 2024 games, but will set a fantastic precedent.
Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said during the announcement, "The inclusion of the package of new sports will afford young athletes the chance of a lifetime to realise their dreams of competing in the Olympic Games - the world's greatest sporting stage - and inspire them to achieve their best, both in sport and in life."
With Japan offering some exceptional waves within close proximity to the city, the caliber of surfing should be on par with what we see every week on the World Tour, but an interesting point has been raised by many in the comments sections and forums of the world. Will World Tour surfers be allowed to compete?
Currently there's some rules preventing surfers on the world tour from competing in non-sanctioned events (like the Red Bull Cape Fear Event held in Sydney earlier this year). Surely there will be some heated debates if the pro's aren't allowed to represent their country, but stranger things have happened in surfing.
With the event still four years away, there's so many variables in play that could make or break surfings first true-blue inclusion in the sport, but one thing is for sure. The surfing industry is going to enjoy the boost in interest that Olympic inclusion inevitably brings.
Tumbi Umbi, NSW
