The Jamaican team at the 2013 ISA World Games in Panama. For 2022, the Jamaican Surf Association has serious ambitions to be contenders in surfing’s Olympic debut. Photo: ISA
Last summer, the International Olympic Committee gave surfing the official nod to become a part of the 2022 Olympic Games in Tokyo. And now, as a precursor to what’s likely to be a string of other countries shouting “us, too!” Jamaica Surfing Association President Billy Wilmot expressed the Association’s ambition to host an Olympic qualifying event at home.
“Surfing has been included in the Olympics for the first time,” he told the Jamaica Gleaner, “and since we have been hosting an international event for the past 10 years, we are hoping we can get our annual event to be considered as an Olympic qualifying event, even if it is for the first round of elimination.”
As a point of clarification, the format of the qualification system for surfing’s Olympic debut is still completely in the air, though the International Surfing Association will ultimately oversee the process.
With respect to the potential format, ISA President Fernando Aguerre was explicit that everything is pending word from the IOC. “For now, I can’t comment on the qualification system because the ISA is waiting to receive directives from the IOC in July 2017,” he said in a statement. “Once we have that, we will have more information. What I can say, though, is that qualification will be individual with 20 men and 20 women and that the field will be made up of superstars on one side, like Federer, Djokovic, Murray or Del Potro in tennis, but at the same time there will be geographic universality. There will be Africans, Latin Americans, Caribbean people, Europeans, Asians… that really highlight surfing’s diversity in the Olympics.”
While the Gleaner‘s piece is a little overzealous in its delivery, what’s clear is that Jamaican surfers have clear ambitions to use surfing’s Olympic debut as an opportunity to show what they can do. It’s also likely they’re not the only country hoping to host a qualifying event.
Wilmot also voiced his hope that Jamaican surfers qualify for Tokyo and potential access to Olympic. “We are looking at the necessary qualifications for a Jamaican team to see how far we can go,” he said. “As a result of this new development, there is an opportunity to access international and local Olympic funding. We are in the process of putting together a four-year development plan to approach the Olympic Solidarity Fund to get assistance for three or four top-tier surfers, to see how we can develop their surfing potential.”
