The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) today certified USA Surfing as the National Governing Body (NGB) for Olympic surfing in the United States, unlocking what every American surfer, coach, and coastal community has been working toward: a fully resourced, surfer-led Olympic program competing at home for the LA28 Olympic Games at Lower Trestles.
USA Surfing arrives at this moment ready, with a committed high-performance investment, a surfer-built talent pipeline that has helped produce back-to-back Olympic gold medals. The team will hit the ground running with the full support of the sport’s international federation, the International Surfing Association (ISA), the World Surf League (WSL), top professional surfers and former Olympians, the surf industry, and an unprecedented bipartisan coalition of elected leaders.
“Being formally certified as the National Governing Body is a tremendous honor and immense responsibility,” Rob Pendergist, Board Chair, USA Surfing. “This milestone is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our athletes, staff, board, and the entire surf community. Our commitment to this great sport has never been stronger. In partnership with the USOPC, we look forward to delivering the Olympic legacy that surfers, the coastal communities, and everyone who stood behind this process deserve.”
A PIPELINE TO PODIUM PROGRAM
For 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist Caroline Marks, certification is both personal and generational. She grew up competing through USA Surfing’s junior Prime Series and represented the U.S. at the ISA World Junior Championships before rising to number one on the WSL Championship Tour and the top of the Olympic podium.
“Every Olympic medal U.S. surfers have won so far has come through USA Surfing’s pipeline and this coaching culture,” Brett Simpson, surfing’s first Olympic Head Coach and USA Surfing Board Member. “You’re seeing that right now with Gabriela Bryan, a USA Surfing alum, who is starting the WSL CT season ranked number one in the world. With the resources this certification unlocks, we’re leveling up a system surfers already trust and delivering the world-class support these athletes have always deserved.”
From junior national Prime Series competitions along the East and West coasts to ISA World Championships in El Salvador and Peru, USA Surfing has been the organization through which America’s greatest competitive surfers have progressed and shone for decades.
USA Surfing has committed to a significant high-performance investment from 2026 through 2028, covering 64 athletes across all six ISA disciplines, qualifying competitions, domestic and international training, Olympic-specific preparation at Lower Trestles, and cutting-edge coaching and data analysis, and wave pool training sessions.
That investment builds on two years of organizational momentum that has already transformed what USA Surfing delivers to athletes:
- Doubled revenue through strategic partnerships and fundraising, creating a sustainable foundation for long-term athlete support
- Tripled staff capacity to expand athlete services and programming
- Launched the Power Your Performance workshop series in mental skills, nutrition, and resilience, equipping athletes for the full demands of elite competition
- Built a live broadcast platform to grow the sport’s reach, athlete exposure, and scoring transparency
- Forged health care partnerships to deliver Olympic-level sports medicine ahead of LA28
- Delivered wave pool and aerial progression camps
- Connected surfers with flexible online college education to strengthen their futures beyond competition
WHAT CERTIFICATION UNLOCKS
“Today’s certification makes way for new investment and momentum to flow directly to surfers and the communities that built surfing’s talent pipeline,” said Becky Fleischauer, CEO, USA Surfing.
“With Lower Trestles as the LA28 venue and the full weight of an NGB behind our surfers, we are ready to deliver the most celebrated chapter in the history of American surfing. Every surfer, from the development pipeline to the Olympic podium, will feel the lift.”
NGB certification opens the door to new and bigger sponsorship, licensing, and partnership agreements. These will fund athlete development programs, high-performance coaching infrastructure, and community-facing initiatives designed to ensure that the economic and cultural lift of LA28 flows back into American surfing at every level.
“We are pleased that the progress made under USA Surfing’s new leadership and approach has led to recertification as a National Governing Body,” said USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland. “The obligation of an NGB is significant, and we thank USA Surfing’s leadership for their engagement throughout the process, and for the work still ahead. We look forward to a collaborative partnership to serve these world-class athletes and deliver on the promise of this great sport at LA28 and beyond.”
This certification will be effective starting June 1, 2026. The USOPC’s NGB certification process often requires a period of structured onboarding to fully meet the comprehensive standards required of a member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. That is what it did today for USA Surfing. “Certified with Conditions” is an established and frequently used determination within this framework, including for the April 2025 certification of USA Football as the National Governing Body for flag football ahead of that NGB’s LA28 Olympic debut.
The LA28 Olympic Games surfing competition held at Lower Trestles will be one of the most-watched sporting events in the history of surfing, and it will happen in USA Surfing’s backyard, San Clemente. This coastal community has been home to USA Surfing and the heartbeat of American competitive surfing for decades. In 2028, it will be the global face of surf culture, as it warmly welcomes the world.
THE COALITION THAT MADE THIS POSSIBLE
USA Surfing’s certification reflects not only years of organizational work, but also the voices of an extraordinary and unprecedented coalition that kept the focus on what was best for surfers, surfing, and the communities that live and breathe surfing.
From Capitol Hill — led by Rep. Mike Levin, who represents the region that will host Olympic surfing in 2028 — to Sacramento, where Assemblywoman Laurie Davies rallied more than 20 California state legislators from both parties, to city and county leaders up and down the California coast, elected officials spoke with a unified and bipartisan voice in support of USA Surfing. A full list of elected supporters is included in the addendum below.
ABOUT USA SURFING
USA Surfing, Inc. is the International Surfing Association (ISA)-recognized national federation for the sport of surfing in the United States and, as of today, the USOPC-certified National Governing Body for Olympic and Paralympic surfing. Based in San Clemente, California — home of the LA28 Olympic surfing venue at Lower Trestles — USA Surfing develops and supports American surfers across all competitive disciplines, including Olympic shortboard, para surfing, longboard, stand-up paddling, prone paddling, and bodyboarding.
USA Surfing’s alumni include back-to-back Olympic gold medalists, ISA World Champions, and a deep roster of American surfers currently competing on the 2026 WSL Championship Tour. For more information, visit usasurfing.org.
