Despite being a three-time world champion in her sport, Liv Stone realized earlier this year that she may never get a chance to compete at the Olympic level.
The 21-year-old para-surfer was one of many in the sport's international community who was distressed to find out that despite years of advocacy, para-surfing— a form of surfing that allows people with physical disabilities to ride waves on a board or wave ski— wouldn't be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“When I heard it didn't get in, I was shocked," said Stone. “Not just for my career, but for all the other athletes as well.”
With para-surfing not being selected for Los Angeles in 2028, Stone and other members of the para-surfing and surfing communities are strengthening their advocacy for the sport to be included in future Paralympics, offering creative solutions to help keep their Paralympic surfing dreams afloat.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
The push for para-surfing to be included in the Paralympics has been a priority for over half a decade, said Stone.
“We pushed for over five years to get into the Paris Olympics,” said Stone. “Then Paris came and we're weren't there ... I realized we need to keep pushing.”
Advocates quickly turned their efforts to the LA28, feeling that the sport met many of the criteria needed to be considered, including a certain number of countries and International Paralympic Committee regions, a classification system based on impairments and approximate gender parity for certain divisions, said five-time para-surfing world champion Victoria Feige, who is 38.
But then came the announcement: para-surfing would be passed over the for Los Angeles Paralympics, with para-climbing being included instead.
“LA28’s assessment of Para Climbing and Para Surfing was informed by the global and domestic popularity, the universality at major international events as well as the cost and complexity of both sports within the LA28 venue master plan context,” a Los Angeles Olympics spokesperson wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
"In finalizing our proposal LA28 needed to strike a balance between its commitment to growing the Paralympic Movement and our commitment to manage the size of the Games and our financial responsibility towards the City of Los Angeles.”
Feige said that she was disappointment when she heard the announcement, but with a fresh sense of determination to get parasurfing included in the Games — be it at the Los Angeles 2028 or Brisbane 2032 Olympics, she said. “Cost is a real factor. We recognize that,” Feige said. “But I’ve really been trying to think of how can we showcase our value in terms of corporate sponsorship, how can we showcase our value in terms of viewership, and how can we, as athletes, showcase our sport in a way that would justify a higher cost."
Feige said she and others began brainstorming solutions that could help lower costs or ease logistical difficulties, including the idea that a wave pool could be used to address water safety and infrastructure concerns, or corporate sponsorships or crowd-funding could be utilized to address the higher costs.
The ideas and advocacy garnered attention, and in June an online petition asking for para-surfing to be included in the Los Angeles Games began, getting over 19,000 signatures.
The push to get para-surfing into the Paralympics also has the backing of the International Surfing Association, the world governing authority for surfing that is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, which has advocated for para-surfing to be included in the Games and hosted the ISA World Para (Adaptive) Surfing Championship since 2015.
“You don't get all the waves that you want — you don't even get all the waves you paddle for. So what do you do? You go out and paddle harder. That's what we're doing to do,” ISA president Fernando Aguerre told The AP. “We're going to continue to develop para-surfing around the world, including explaining why it should be part of the Paralympic Games.”
While the battle for para-surfing to be included in the next Paralympics is ongoing, Feige said she remains optimistic.
“If we can navigate the ocean with our disabilities, we have the great determination and creativity to find a solution for this problem as well,” said Feige. “We just need a chance to showcase what we can do.”
