THE ISA OLYMPIC MOVEMENT

Olympic Surfing Committee

The mission of this committee is to include surfing into the Olympic Games. The goals of this committee are to lobby and to get political support in favor of surfing.

Surfing's Olympic Chronology

November 1992 - International Surfing Association (ISA) President Jacques Hele lobbies for surfing.

April 1994 - Lobbying continues for Surfing to become an Olympic sport. Jacques Hele attends several international sports meetings.

May 1994 - Fernando Aguerre is elected Chairman of the ISA and includes Olympic Surfing as part of the ISA's Plan for the inclusion in the Sydney 2000 Olympics Games.

August 1994 - ISA files application for recognition by the International Olympic Committee.

March 1995 - Aguerre rallies support of the U.S. surf industry and brings the ISA World Surfing Games to Huntington Beach, USA, as a consequence of original host South Africa is unable to host event.

April 1995 - IOC Executive Committee grants provisional recognition to the International Surfing Association.

June 1995 - The International Olympic Committee's Annual Congress ratifies the Executive Committee's decision officially recognized the ISA as the International Federation for surfing and bodyboarding, thus formally welcoming the sports to the Olympic movement.

Sept. 1995 - ISA reaches decision to make a special donation to the IOC museum in honor of becoming a recognized federation.

May 1996 - Mr. Joao Havelange, President of FIFA (Federation Internationale Football Association-the world's largest sporting federation), becomes an ambassador for surfing, writing letters to Mr. Samaranch requesting he consider admitting surfing into the Olympic Games.

June 1996 - ISA Chairman Aguerre concludes an historic meeting with IOC President Samaranch at IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on June 13, 1996. Aguerre met with Mr. Samaranch and IOC Sports Director, Gilbert Felli, for nearly one hour. Aguerre presented surfing's case for inclusion in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The IOC President indicated to Aguerre, referring to the ISA and surfing in Sydney, that the door is not closed yet.

June 1996 - IOC President Samaranch, at the conclusion of his June meeting with ISA Chairman Aguerre, Unexpectedly announced the creation of a special "IOC President's Trophy" to be given to the team winner at the ISA World Surfing Games. He further directed IOC Sports Director Gilbert Felli or Pere Miro (IOC Deputy Sports Director) to attend the World Surfing Games' Opening Ceremony on October 5th and report back to IOC Headquarters.

August 1996 - The Olympic "Questionnaire for Admission" is completed and sent back to the International Olympic Committee.

August 1996 - Invitations are sent to International Olympic Committee members and United States Olympic Committee members, inviting them to attend the ISA World Surfing Games in October at Huntington Beach.

Oct. 1996 - The International Surfing Association held its World Surfing Games October 5-13 in Huntington Beach, CA. The 1996 ISA World Surfing Games was the world's largest-ever surfing contest, featuring almost 600 competitors from 36 nations.

During this event, the President of the IOC Mr. Samaranch sends the "IOC President's Trophy" to be given to the winner of the competition. Furthermore, Mr. Samaranch sends an IOC Member Mr. James Easton (from USA) to visit the event and make a report about it to the IOC Mr. James Easton comes to the World Surfing Games, attend to the Opening Ceremony and makes a very positive speech about surfing and the organization of the event.

Jan. 1997 - ISA produces a promotional video-tape about the World Surfing Games '96 and sends a copy of it to all IOC Members.

Sept. 1997 - IOC grants "outright recognition" to the ISA as a "Recognized Federation."

Nov 1997 - IOC requests two ISA flags to be placed at the IOC. One for the IOC Headquarters and one for the IOC Museum.

April 1998 - ISA's Executive Director Mr. Cadu Villela visits the Italian Olympic Committee and the Portuguese Olympic Committee and gets support to our Olympic quest.

October 2001 - ISA Vice President, Jacques Hele attended the GAISF Congress and General Assembly, Singapore

August 2002 - Maile H. Aguerre attended IOC's, ARISF's and IWGA's annual meetings in Lausanne, Switzerland. On this trip, the ISA received a letter saying that surfing would not be considered for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. The reason being that the ISA has not yet fulfilled the requirement of having 75 NGB's.

October 2002 - Maile H. Aguerre met with Mr. Vazquez Raña of President of PASO (Pan American Sports Organization) in Mexico City to present the formal application for the sport of surfing to be recognized by PASO for both PASA (Pan-American Surf Association) and the ISA.

November 2002 - Maile H. Aguerre attended the GAISF Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado on behalf of the ISA.

December 2002 - Surfing was officially put on the South Pacific Games Programme.

May 2003 - Maile H. Aguerre attended SportAccord in Madrid, Spain, where all of the different Sporting Associations meetings (GAISF, ARISF and IWGA) were combined into one setting, one meeting. At this meeting, IOC President, Jacques Rogge told the recognized IF's not to spend money on lobbying, but instead on developing the sport. He also confirmed that the new IOC policy states that the IOC will review the Programme after each Olympic Games, on which sports can / can not be added. Finally, he confirmed that in order for one sport to get in, another must be removed.

November 2003, ISA filled out and submitted a re-evaluation document for the IOC records.

Througout 2003, ISA worked with WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) to fulfill the IOC's requirements of signing on with WADA. All documents were submitted to ISA's attorney for approval first.

December 2003 - the ISA signed the contract with WADA, conforming to the IOC's Anti-Doping Charter.

March 2004 - ISA awarded the 2004 IOC Presidents Trophy to the Team Australia, the winning team at the ISA World Surfing Games 2004 in Salinas, Ecuador. [Photo here: "OLYMPIC IOC Presidents Trophy WSG 2004"]

June 2004 - Maile H. Aguerre attended SportAccord in Lausanne, Switzerland, a joint convention of IWGA, ARISF and GAISF Meetings.

January 2007 - The Executive Committee of the ISA replaces Maile Aguerre with ISA President Fernando Aguerre as ISA lead contact with the IOC and all other sports organizations around the world.

October 2007 - ISA President attends the IF Forum in Lausanne, where he engages several IOC and IF officials in the desirability of surfing as an Olympic Sport.

June 2008 - ISA President attends SportAccord, where he makes the case for inclusion of Surfing in the Cultural, Education and/or Cultural Programs of the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games, and 2012 London Olympic Games.

August 2008 - ISA President releases his document "Surfing in the Olympics", which widely circulated becomes a key piece in the ISA's path towards IOC Games and other multisport surfing inclusion. Please click: http://www.isasurf.org/OlympicSurfing.php

October 2008 - Surfing is included in the first annual, OAC sanctioned Asian Beach Games which takes place in Bali, Indonesia.