ISA Will Promote Stand Up Paddle and Surfing to Olympics
Similarly to snowboarding that had already became an Olympic sport, surfing at Olympics begs the question. Should be surfing considered for Olympic Games? Some see it as a publicity stunt or a "sponger" capitalizing on the sport, others see it as a good introduction to the uninitiated, getting more people into surfing. The rumor is that surfing is already considered for the 2024 Olympics.......
International surfing association's president, Fernando Aguerre will be promoting Surfing and Standup paddle (SUP) to Olympic leaders at SportAccord, joined by World SUP Champion Casper Steinfath from Denmark. SportAccord Convention is 6-day gathering of 2000 leading representatives from international sports fedarations in Belek, Turkey on April 9, 2014.
Artificial Waves
Aguerre will also propagate new venue technology that will make the sport of Surfing more accessible to multi-sport events and the Olympic Games, as well as to illustrate the progress of the ISA’s development of SUP Racing and Surfing.“What may have started as a niche activity in handful of coast-lined countries of the world back when we got started in 1964, is now a truly universal and global sport”, he said.
The legendary freestyle windsurfing event on lake Neusiedl is back! Since 1998 the best Freestyle Windsurfers in the world travel down to the Austrian water sports capital to compete in the European Freestyle Pro Tour. This edition, taking place
between the 27th of April and the 1st of May, will be…
“One of the biggest obstacles to Surfing in the Olympic Games has been a consistent, reliable venue to ride waves, but this technology has the potential to change all that,” said Aguerre. “Surfing is one of the fastest growing sports among youth around the world and we understand well how important this demographic is to the Olympic Movement. Wave pool technology will change the landscape for future high performance surfing and competitive opportunities everywhere and opens the door for our sport to major multi-sport games.”
An aerial view of the showroom version of the Wavegarden wave pool in Spain.
“The speed is perfect” – Dane Reynolds ( a professional surfer, USA)
With the capacity to deliver a 2-meter (6-7 foot) high, 120-meter (400 foot) long wave suitable for high performance surfing every 60 seconds, the technology would allow for a consistent, reliable venue even in locations where there is no ocean and potentially using existing Olympic venues. There are already 10 facilities around the world in development that are expected to be completed towards the end of 2014 and early 2015.
Standup Paddling Surfing Growing Popularity
Aguerre will also be pushing the case for SUP with the help of his Danish star Steinfath. Practiced in both racing and surfing formats, SUP has gained an enormous global following, and could be even easier for Olympic and multi-sport organizers to integrate, depending on the local venue infrastructure.
Casper Steinfath holding on to his Gold Medal at the ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddlboard Championship
For the past three years, the ISA has been running world championships in SUP, and has consistently seen the number of participating athletes and countries grow. There are already 40 ISA Member Nations with SUP teams, and many of them are expected to compete at the 3rd annual ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship in Nicaragua in May.
“Because SUP is easier to practice, and can be done on waves or flatwater, it offers an additional element of universality to the Olympic Movement,” Aguerre added.
The international top event this year is all about the new Olympic windsurfing class, foil windsurfing and wingfoiling. More than 300 world’s best windsurfers from 42 nations will compete in various foil classes on Lake Silvaplana.
The first of 16 GKA Kite World Tour events begins in Cape Verde this month.
Ten islands make up the archipelago of Cabo Verde which lies two hours south of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, due to their geographical location the islands are frequented with pumping swell and trade winds.
…
