IOC green light the path with gold

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has voted to include surfing in the Tokyo 2020 games.

This is a massive milestone in the history of the sport and could be a real stepping stone to producing some British greats.

While it is fair to say not everyone is pleased with the outcome, we spoke to Andrew Topham, Managing Director of Boardmasters to get his opinion on the news…

“It’s fantastic news that surfing will be welcomed into the Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020 and it couldn’t come at a better time, with surfers from all around the world due to descend on the UK for the Boardmasters International Surf competition in Cornwall.

“It’s also brilliant for British sport on the whole – there are some truly world-class surfers born here in the UK, such as Ben Skinner who currently sits at third in the world, who will do a superb job at representing the country in Japan.”

“The 150,000-strong crowd expected to come to Boardmasters next weekend is testament to the respect we have for surfing as a sport – and this will only continue to grow following its induction into the Olympic Games.”

For those that can’t quite wait for the world’s top surf nations to go head-to-head in Japan can get involved with the next best thing at the 2016 World Surfing Games (Aug. 6-14 in Costa Rica). Check out the runners and riders and get behind your favourites here.

The World Surf Games are the closest approximation that surfing currently has to an Olympic-style event. With 27 nations set to compete at the 2016 edition, the games would show the Olympic brass that surfing is a truly international affair these days.

With baseball, karate, skateboarding and sports climbing also added to the roster it is now down to the poor folk of the squash world to fight for their inclusion in the 2024 games after being snubbed yet again.