Will Yago Dora compete in the ISA’s first qualifier for the LA 2028 Olympic cycle? Photo: Beatriz Ryder//WSL
In the face of criticism from many top Championship Tour surfers, the International Surfing Association didn’t amend its new Olympic qualification system. With an announcement today that the ISA’s first qualification event of the 2028 cycle will take place in Peru later this year, the aggrieved CT surfers will have their first chance to show exactly how resolute they are in their opposition to the new system.
The 2026 ISA World Surfing Games will run from November 6-15 at Punta Rocas, Peru, where the highest finishing men’s and women’s teams will earn an LA 2028 slot for their countries.
The qualification systems for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 required CT surfers to enter ISA events to retain their Olympic status — leading some to throw heats, give half-hearted efforts, or fake injuries to avoid competing. The 2028 system was created to eliminate that requirement while adding incentive: it reduces the number of CT surfers who qualify from 10 men and eight women to five of each gender, with a one-surfer-per-country limit, and places the CT as the final qualification pathway. As a result, CT surfers who want to maximize their Olympic prospects will compete in as many qualifying events as possible.
When the ISA revealed the sweeping changes to the 2028 qualification system, CT surfers, including reigning champs Yago Dora and Molly Picklum, expressed their disapproval. For the first time since the ISA and WSL struck a deal to share the qualification system for Tokyo 2020, the WSL also publicly criticized the ISA’s system.
Peru will be the first chance to see if any of those CT surfers are willing to take a stand. If the Olympics are not their top priority, and they don’t want to follow the guidance of the sport’s Olympic authority, then they don’t have to pretend to care. They can skip the event. But if they want to earn a spot early, or help their country earn a spot, they’ll surf in the event.
I’ve conjectured that CT surfers will actually learn to like the new system once the initial shock fades. The new system opens it up for three surfers per gender per country, instead of the previous system that limited it to two surfers with a few caveats. Some of the upset surfers, who had little chance to qualify with the previous system, will now have several chances to compete for an Olympic berth.
The ISA weathered the barrage of social media comments and bet that Tour surfers will adapt. At this point, it appears that they will. The only card they have left to play is to band together and skip the Olympics and its qualifiers. But there hasn’t been any hint of that happening. We’ll find out what the Olympics mean to them if they’re flying their country’s flag, or not, later this year.
