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Surfers and local investors urge San Clemente to back USA Surfing as Olympic governing body
Summary
Surfers, industry groups and local investors urged the City Council to back USA Surfing as the national governing body for Olympic surfing and to ask federal and state officials to press the USOPC to follow law and Olympic charters; councilmembers indicated support and will agendize a resolution.
Dozens of surfers, industry representatives and local investors spoke at public comment during the San Clemente City Council meeting Aug. 5 to urge the council to support USA Surfing as the United States’ national governing body for Olympic surfing.
Speakers included Kira Pinkerton, a San Clemente professional surfer; Kip Shepherd, CEO of Resin Services and an investor in USA Surfing; Vyit (Vyb) Desai, executive director of the Surf Industry Members Association; and Becky Fleschauer, CEO of USA Surfing. Commenters described USA Surfing as headquartered and trained in San Clemente, argued that an attempt by U.S. Ski and Snowboard to oversee Olympic surfing would violate the Ted Stevens Act and the Olympic Charter, and warned that moving governance to a landlocked federation could divert economic opportunities away from California surf communities.
Councilmembers said they heard the public and several indicated support for USA Surfing. One councilmember asked staff to agendize a formal resolution for a future meeting asking local, state and federal legislators, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, to follow the law and preserve USA Surfing’s role. The mayor said he would circulate a draft letter and asked staff to bring the item back for formal consideration.
Speakers asked the council to use its voice to protect local jobs, training pipelines and event hosting opportunities that supporters said are rooted in San Clemente and surrounding coastal communities.
