U.S. Ski and Snowboard Abandons Effort To Lead Olympic Surf Team

U.S. Ski and Snowboard (USSS) has abandoned its effort to become the National Governing Body (NGB) for surfing athletes in the U.S.

In a statement, the organization said that it’s instead focusing on its current athletes across disciplines like alpine racing and freeskiing, who are preparing for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy.

USSS also said that it strongly believes “that our athlete-first model, track record of success across 10 Olympic & Paralympic sports and world-class infrastructure could provide the resources that U.S. surfers deserve.”

The organization said it faced “public attacks and uninformed legal threats” from surfing’s previous NGB, USA Surfing, rather than “constructive dialogue and engagement.”

Keep reading for more on this developing story.

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The decision to withdraw follows an apparent power struggle between the USSS and USA Surfing, who both made plans to claim the NGB mantle. NGBs oversee the development and governance of their respective sports in the U.S. They also nominate athletes to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams.

The Orange County Register reported that whichever group became the leader of the surfing national team would be positioned to gain millions of dollars in funding.

USA Surfing served as the NGB for the 2020 Summer Olympics when surfing debuted, but voluntarily decertified in 2021 after a United States Olympic & Paralympic (USOPC) audit of the organization found financial and governance issues. In the interim, the USOPC filled the role at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Since then, according to its application for NGB status, USA Surfing has changed course, setting up a “new board, new staff, new policies, new procedures, and new safeguards.”

“​​We know that we can now fulfill USOPC’s compliance standards, and we know that we are the best,” the organization added.

Amongst many surfers, there’s been predictable skepticism towards the unconventional-seeming idea of a winter sports organization becoming surfing’s NGB.

USA Surfing has suggested that USSS has “no surf competition infrastructure, no dedicated surf coaches, and no connections to the athlete development pipeline.” An op-ed published in Surferchose harsher words, asking USSS to “keep their kooky hands off USA Surfing.”

USSS does have a connection to surfing, though, through its CEO, Sophie Goldschmidt, who previously headed the World Surf League. And despite withdrawing its bid, USSS seemed to leave the possibility of eventual involvement in surfing open.

“We feel progress in sport requires partnership and trust,” its recent statement concluded. “We remain open to opportunities in the future should the environment become more collaborative.”

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