Para surfing will be riding into Huntington Beach later this fall, but efforts to bring the sport to the Paralympic Games for LA28 are wiping out.

The International Surfing Association recently announced that its World Para Surfing Championships would make a return to Surf City from Nov. 3 to 9, an event that last year brought a record-breaking number of para-surfing athletes from around the world to compete on the south side of the pier.

The event featured 180 athletes from 27 national teams, in part, showing how the sport could be added to the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

Hopes were high as ISA organizers waited for word on whether surfing would be included in the LA28 Paralympic Games. In January 2023, the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board had said that para surfing has demonstrated the “competitive viability and integrity of the sport, as well as the strategic benefits” to the Paralympic Games, according to ISA.

Only one new sport could be added, with para climbing and surfing top contenders.

On Wednesday, June 12, it was announced para climbing was the LA28 pick.

LA28 is the first organizing committee in history to propose a new sport to the Paralympic Sport Program, said the games’ Chief Athlete Officer Janet Evans, in a statement on Wednesday.

“We see this as a unique chance to give more athletes the ability to compete on the world’s biggest stage, while creating an expansive and elite adaptive sport program that exemplifies LA28’s commitment to elevating the paralympic movement,” she said.

In January 2023, the IPC’s Governing Board approved 22 sports for inclusion in the Paralympic Sport Program and identified a shortlist of additional sports, offering LA28 the opportunity to consider adding a new sport from the selection.

LA28 assessed the global and domestic popularity as well as the cost and complexity of the shortlisted sport, officials said. LA28’s proposal to add para climbing will be reviewed and voted on during the IPC’s Governing Board meeting on June 26.

“We are, of course, disappointed in this news, but as surfers, when we miss a wave, we turn and paddle just as hard for the next one, and we will do the same now with the hope of seeing para surfing included in Brisbane in 2032,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Para surfers are amazing athletes, full of hope and resilience in the face of life’s challenges. We take inspiration from their love of this sport, and reaffirm our commitment to them and to this sport.”

Aguerre, who worked for decades to get surfing included into the Olympic Games before it debuted in Toyko, said having the Paralympic Games as part of the competition in Los Angeles would have been a “dream event” in California, where surfing is the state’s official sport.

Para surfing shows that no matter what a person’s physical ability, the ocean belongs to all surfers, he said.

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For Huntington Beach leaders, the hope was that Olympic organizers looking to pair para surfing with the LA28 surfing competition would see how accessible the city’s beaches are, as well as showcase the amenities such as hotels and restaurants that could host large crowds, said Visit Huntington Beach President Kelly Miller.

Miller said last year’s ISA World Para Surfing Championships was a big success, calling it one of the most emotional sporting events ever to come to town.

“To see and get to know some of these athletes who came from around the world and to see the challenges they have overcome – it’s emotional, tears in your eyes,” Miller said.

Surf venue for LA28 still uncertain

Some cities and venues are already signing on to host LA28 Olympic competitions, but there’s still no official word on where the surfing competition will be held, Miller said.

The sport of surfing made its debut in the Olympic Games at Tokyo as organizers attempted to draw a younger audience, also adding skateboarding to the competition. In just weeks, surfing will again be showcased for a second time in the Paris Games, at the barreling wave Teahupo’o in Tahiti, part of French Polynesia. 

Huntington Beach leaders made their bid with LA28 Olympic organizers to host the surfing competitions back in 2021.

The beach town has consistent surf throughout the year, an expanse of sand that can host a festival-like atmosphere and other city amenities that would make for an attractive location, Miller said.

“We also believe that if there are wait periods and there’s a pause in the competition, our hotels and restaurants and shops are a nice option to have if the waves aren’t what they want them to be,” he said. “Our vision is to utilize the entire beach to make this a cultural, surf experience.”

Another contender, Lower Trestles just south of San Clemente, is one of the best surf breaks on the mainland, the surf spot selected the past four years for a one-day surfing world championship showdown.

That spot, however, is a challenge to access and has limited sand space for crowds and few options for accommodations nearby for large crowds. There’s also a lease agreement with the Department of Navy that is still pending, so the future of the land – and the surf break – is uncertain. 

Miller said a decision by Olympic organizers for the LA28 surfing competition is expected before the end of the year.

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