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When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed the addition of five new sports to the Tokyo 2020 line-up three years ago, the body’s communications team was quick to hail the move as ‘the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic programme in modern history’.
For karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and baseball/softball, the suggestion was that inclusion at next year’s Games would be a game-changer, not to mention a golden ticket to the so-called ‘greatest show on earth’.
For the IOC, too, the arrival of these youth-focused, ‘urban’ disciplines would herald the beginning of an innovative, flexible and more collaborative chapter in Olympic hosting, as well as a way to instil much-needed relevance in the eyes of younger audiences.
Yet for the five newcomers and their global governing bodies, the long-term benefits of being part of sport’s most elaborate jamboree are far from certain.
Despite footing the lion’s share of the bill for staging their respective competitions next summer, none of the five additional sports will receive a cut of the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue generated by the Games. Income from the event will instead be split between the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 organising committee and the 28 core sports on the programme, leaving the temporary disciplines to forego vital development funds.
That reality has sparked understandable criticism and led to accusations of exploitation on the part of the IOC, especially given the promise of increased funding is often touted as a major benefit of Olympic inclusion. For the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the decision appears particularly unjust given both of the sports it governs are set to generate substantial ticket revenue for Tokyo 2020 owing to their popularity in Japan.
For the International Surfing Association (ISA), whose events in Tokyo will be non-ticketed, the injustice is perhaps not so obvious. Still, the global governing body finds itself in a curious position.
Along with skateboarding, sport climbing and breakdancing, surfing has already been provisionally accepted for Paris 2024, and given the sport’s heritage and popularity in California – where it was recently declared the state’s official sport – it is likely that it will be recommended to appear at the following Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Should that happen, surfing will have featured at three successive Olympics – an unprecedented run of appearances that some observers believe warrants a place on the Games programme permanently.
“If we are selected for two Games, there is no difference between surfing and golf or rugby, when they were approved in 2009 for two Games – in Rio and Tokyo,” says ISA president Fernando Aguerre.
“In practical terms, I don’t think it really matters who asks for surfing or skateboarding or sport climbing to be in the Games; the fact that you are there means that you are contributing, you are one of the members of the family. We hope to be an important and relevant and hard-working member that brings value, energy, youth.”
This inspiration, love and passion for what we do, we have truckloads, but the truck needs gas in the tank
That is certainly the message coming out of Tokyo 2020. According to Masa Takaya, a spokesperson for the local organising committee, the five additional sports will bring added value to next summer’s Games.
“We proposed these five sports for the extra excitement,” he tells SportsPro. “Looking into the business side, while we will be able to raise revenue from ticket sales, in the meantime we also have to prepare for the competition venues, and that involves security and other things. So we can’t anticipate the outcome of the business side, but I want to emphasise that we proposed this package because we want to see the extra success of Tokyo 2020.
“We all know that particularly these urban sports, like sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding, will add new value to the Games, in addition to the traditionally popular sports in Japan, like baseball, softball and karate.”
Yet being part of the Olympic showpiece is about more than revelling in its spotlight for a single fortnight. For the international federations concerned, particularly those smaller organisations with more limited budgets, there are financial planning and long-term legacy factors to consider, and in that sense temporary status brings obvious challenges.
“I think that if you were designing this, you probably would like to distribute to the people who contribute to the value,” argues Aguerre. “I think there are a lot of people at the IOC who are thinking about this, because the operational cost of being an Olympic sport for a small federation, like surfing or climbing, or a new federation, like skateboarding, which is a couple years old, is very high.
“We’re hard-pressed, with our small resources, to execute and we’re doing the best we can. We’re hoping that the decision-makers find a way to help us in a way to bring even more value to the Olympic Games.
“This inspiration, love and passion for what we do, we have truckloads, but the truck needs gas in the tank, and I think some extra gas would not be bad for us.”
Fernando Aguerre spearheaded the push to get surfing into the Olympics
For Aguerre, whose quest to get surfing into the Olympics has been something of a personal crusade since becoming president of the ISA in 1994, considerable credit must nevertheless go to IOC president Thomas Bach. After taking the helm of the Olympic body in 2013, the German was instrumental in pushing through Agenda 2020, a suite of reforms designed to transform the way the Games are awarded and hosted.
Without Bach’s vision, says Aguerre, surfing may still be left out in the cold. “It is really something that president Bach can wear on his lapel,” says the Argentinian, who describes his colleague’s package of reforms as the “single biggest” factor in realising surfing’s Olympic dream. “He wanted to do this and he did it. He created a way to do it.”
Yet, for Robert Fasulo, the ISA’s executive director, the IOC’s policy of including sports on a temporary basis, and the associated issue of revenue distribution, will have to be fine-tuned if it is to benefit the federations in the long run. He is not alone in his belief that those creating value for the Games are not receiving their share of it in return.
“To the IOC’s credit,” says Fasulo,“it was a mechanism that allowed change, which of course we’re all in favour of, but now – and I’m not sure that the IOC has fully thought this through – it’s that sense of uncertainty. We need to be able to understand what our prospects are longer-term.
“We’re obviously honoured and pleased to be in the programme and it’s a huge opportunity for us, but that is an important reality that, at some point, needs to be addressed.”
I’m a daring surfer but I’m not daring enough to second-guess the IOC
While the five additional sports will not receive any revenue, next year’s Games have already set a new record for commercial income, with organisers raising well in excess of US$3 billion from their domestic sponsorship programme alone.
The local organising committee has meanwhile implemented a suite of cost-saving measures as part of the IOC’s push to rein in spending on the Games. As such, Tokyo 2020’s venue masterplan has been reworked from the original proposal, a process that has helped trim some US$2.2 billion off the total Games price tag, which currently stands at US$12.6 billion.
A further US$2.1 billion has also been spirited away as a result of the IOC’s recently introduced ‘New Norm’ cost reduction measures, which include shortening venue rental periods and optimising test event and overlay plans.
Aguerre would like to see a portion of those funds channelled towards helping the five additional sports cover their operating costs. While he refuses to divulge the ISA’s total expenditure on the Tokyo Games – budgets are still being finalised, he says – he notes the substantial costs involved, including countless hours spent fighting surfing’s cause and then, once admission was granted in 2016, ensuring the ISA’s compliance with the IOC’s stringent demands.
“Tokyo has been very successful in their fundraising efforts,” he notes. “The ‘New Norm’ has created an additional hundreds of millions of dollars in savings, so I think some of those savings should be channelled – in a small part, in a minuscule part – to properly fund this new direction of the Games.”
Surfers prepare to compete during a Tokyo 2020 test event at Tsurigasaki Beach earlier in July.
Funding issues aside, Aguerre says preparations for next summer’s event are progressing well. An MoU signed with the World Surf League (WSL), the organisers of the elite professional surfing tours, has ensured that the world’s best surfers will be present in Tokyo, with all the major nations represented, including Japan, whose performances on the international stage have improved drastically in recent times.
Last September, when Japan hosted the ISA World Surfing Games in Tahara, the hosts won the world team championship, before going on to claim the same title two months later at the world junior championships in Huntington Beach, California.
“At this point, we are happy,” says Aguerre. “We know there are a lot of bridges to cross between now and then, but we have a good timeline and we have a good working relationship with the Tokyo 2020 team.
“As I said, there are several bridges to cross, but we feel confident that they will be crossed properly and if not, we’ll be sure to be candid about that with our partners, both in Tokyo and Lausanne, as we’ve always been.”
As well as organising the men’s and women’s surfing contests next summer, the ISA is planning to host an accompanying beach festival, which will take place at the same time as the main competitions at Tsurigasaki Beach, located roughly 100km east of Tokyo in Ichinomiya town on Chiba Prefecture’s Pacific coastline. The festival concept, which comprises music, lifestyle, entertainment and cultural elements, was trialled at last year’s Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, with non-ticketed spectators invited to experience the occasion and take part in various activities.
For the ISA, then, Tokyo 2020 will be a landmark opportunity to showcase the sport of surfing and its long-term Olympic credentials. A final decision regarding its inclusion at Paris 2024 will be made following next year’s Games, yet the question remains: will the sport be awarded a permanent spot once all is said and done?
“I’m a daring surfer but I’m not daring enough to second-guess the IOC,” laughs Aguerre. “My focus right now is like, this is the last wave of my life, so I’m going to paddle that wave with all my energy – my soul, my spirit, my strength, everything. Because in life, nobody gets a second chance to make a first impression.”
When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed the addition of five new sports to the Tokyo 2020 line-up three years ago, the body’s communications team was quick to hail the move as ‘the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic programme in modern history’.
For karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and baseball/softball, the suggestion was that inclusion at next year’s Games would be a game-changer, not to mention a golden ticket to the so-called ‘greatest show on earth’.
For the IOC, too, the arrival of these youth-focused, ‘urban’ disciplines would herald the beginning of an innovative, flexible and more collaborative chapter in Olympic hosting, as well as a way to instil much-needed relevance in the eyes of younger audiences.
Yet for the five newcomers and their global governing bodies, the long-term benefits of being part of sport’s most elaborate jamboree are far from certain.
Despite footing the lion’s share of the bill for staging their respective competitions next summer, none of the five additional sports will receive a cut of the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue generated by the Games. Income from the event will instead be split between the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 organising committee and the 28 core sports on the programme, leaving the temporary disciplines to forego vital development funds.
That reality has sparked understandable criticism and led to accusations of exploitation on the part of the IOC, especially given the promise of increased funding is often touted as a major benefit of Olympic inclusion. For the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the decision appears particularly unjust given both of the sports it governs are set to generate substantial ticket revenue for Tokyo 2020 owing to their popularity in Japan.
For the International Surfing Association (ISA), whose events in Tokyo will be non-ticketed, the injustice is perhaps not so obvious. Still, the global governing body finds itself in a curious position.
Along with skateboarding, sport climbing and breakdancing, surfing has already been provisionally accepted for Paris 2024, and given the sport’s heritage and popularity in California – where it was recently declared the state’s official sport – it is likely that it will be recommended to appear at the following Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Should that happen, surfing will have featured at three successive Olympics – an unprecedented run of appearances that some observers believe warrants a place on the Games programme permanently.
“If we are selected for two Games, there is no difference between surfing and golf or rugby, when they were approved in 2009 for two Games – in Rio and Tokyo,” says ISA president Fernando Aguerre.
“In practical terms, I don’t think it really matters who asks for surfing or skateboarding or sport climbing to be in the Games; the fact that you are there means that you are contributing, you are one of the members of the family. We hope to be an important and relevant and hard-working member that brings value, energy, youth.”
That is certainly the message coming out of Tokyo 2020. According to Masa Takaya, a spokesperson for the local organising committee, the five additional sports will bring added value to next summer’s Games.
“We proposed these five sports for the extra excitement,” he tells SportsPro. “Looking into the business side, while we will be able to raise revenue from ticket sales, in the meantime we also have to prepare for the competition venues, and that involves security and other things. So we can’t anticipate the outcome of the business side, but I want to emphasise that we proposed this package because we want to see the extra success of Tokyo 2020.
“We all know that particularly these urban sports, like sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding, will add new value to the Games, in addition to the traditionally popular sports in Japan, like baseball, softball and karate.”
Yet being part of the Olympic festival is about more than revelling in its spotlight for a single fortnight. For the international federations concerned, particularly those smaller organisations with more limited budgets, there are financial planning and long-term legacy factors to consider, and in that sense temporary status brings obvious challenges.
“I think that if you were designing this, you probably would like to distribute to the people who contribute to the value,” argues Aguerre. “I think there are a lot of people at the IOC who are thinking about this, because the operational cost of being an Olympic sport for a small federation, like surfing or climbing, or a new federation, like skateboarding, which is a couple years old, is very high.
“We’re hard-pressed, with our small resources, to execute and we’re doing the best we can. We’re hoping that the decision-makers find a way to help us in a way to bring even more value to the Olympic Games. This inspiration, love and passion for what we do, we have truckloads, but the truck needs gas in the tank, and I think some extra gas would not be bad for us.”
For Aguerre, whose quest to get surfing into the Olympics has been something of a personal crusade since becoming president of the ISA in 1994, considerable credit must go to IOC president Thomas Bach. After taking the helm of the Olympic body in 2013, the German was instrumental in pushing through Agenda 2020, a suite of reforms designed to transform the way the Games are awarded and hosted.
Without Bach’s vision, says Aguerre, surfing may still be left out in the cold. “It is really something that president Bach can wear on his lapel,” says the Argentinian, who describes his colleague’s package of reforms as the “single biggest” factor in realising surfing’s Olympic dream. “He wanted to do this and he did it. He created a way to do it.”
Yet, for Robert Fasulo, the ISA’s executive director, the IOC’s policy of including sports on a temporary basis, and the associated issue of revenue distribution, will have to be fine-tuned if it is to benefit the federations in the long run. He is not alone in his belief that those creating value for the Games are not receiving their share of it in return.
“To the IOC’s credit,” says Fasulo,“it was a mechanism that allowed change, which of course we’re all in favour of, but now – and I’m not sure that the IOC has fully thought this through – it’s that sense of uncertainty. We need to be able to understand what our prospects are longer-term.
“We’re obviously honoured and pleased to be in the programme and it’s a huge opportunity for us, but that is an important reality that, at some point, needs to be addressed.”
While the five additional sports will not receive any revenue, next year’s Games have already set a new record for commercial income, with organisers raising well in excess of US$3 billion from their domestic sponsorship programme alone.
The local organising committee has meanwhile implemented a suite of cost-saving measures as part of the IOC’s push to rein in spending on the Games. As such, Tokyo 2020’s venue masterplan has been reworked from the original proposal, a process that has helped trim some US$2.2 billion off the total Games price tag, which currently stands at US$12.6 billion. A further US$2.1 billion has also been spirited away as a result of the IOC’s recently introduced ‘New Norm’ cost reduction measures, which include shortening venue rental periods and optimising test event and overlay plans.
Aguerre would like to see a portion of those funds channelled towards helping the five additional sports cover their operating costs. While he refuses to divulge the ISA’s total expenditure on the Tokyo Games – budgets are still being finalised, he says – he notes the substantial costs involved, including countless hours spent fighting surfing’s cause and then, once admission was granted in 2016, ensuring the ISA’s compliance with the IOC’s stringent demands.
“Tokyo has been very successful in their fundraising efforts,” he notes. “The ‘New Norm’ has created an additional hundreds of millions of dollars in savings, so I think some of those savings should be channelled – in a small part, in a minuscule part – to properly fund this new direction of the Games.”
Funding issues aside, Aguerre says preparations for next summer’s event are progressing well. An MoU signed with the World Surf League (WSL), the organisers of the elite professional surfing tours, has ensured that the world’s best surfers will be present in Tokyo, with all the major nations represented, including Japan, whose performances on the international stage have improved drastically in recent times.
Last September, when Japan hosted the ISA World Surfing Games in Tahara, the hosts won the world team championship, before going on to claim the same title two months later at the world junior championships in Huntington Beach, California.
“At this point, we are happy,” says Aguerre. “We know there are a lot of bridges to cross between now and then, but we have a good timeline and we have a good working relationship with the Tokyo 2020 team.
“As I said, there are several bridges to cross, but we feel confident that they will be crossed properly and if not, we’ll be sure to be candid about that with our partners, both in Tokyo and Lausanne, as we’ve always been.”
As well as organising the men’s and women’s surfing contests, the ISA is planning to host an accompanying beach festival, which will take place at the same time as the main competitions at Tsurigasaki Beach, located roughly 100km east of Tokyo in Ichinomiya town on Chiba Prefecture’s Pacific coastline. The festival concept, which comprises music, lifestyle, entertainment and cultural elements, was trialled at last year’s Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, with non-ticketed spectators invited to experience the occasion and take part in various activities.
For the ISA, then, Tokyo 2020 will be a landmark opportunity to showcase the sport of surfing and its long-term Olympic credentials. A final decision regarding its inclusion at Paris 2024 will be made following next year’s Games, yet the question remains: will the sport be awarded a permanent spot once all is said and done?
“I’m a daring surfer but I’m not daring enough to second-guess the IOC,” laughs Aguerre. “My focus right now is like, this is the last wave of my life, so I’m going to paddle that wave with all my energy – my soul, my spirit, my strength, everything. Because in life, nobody gets a second chance to make a first impression.”
