The International Court of Arbitration for Sport gives the ISA Olympic governance of SUP.

After several years of debate between the parties, today the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the International Surfing Association (ISA) for the Olympic governance of StandUp Paddle.

This decision was not well received by the International Canoe Federation, the other party involved, who issued the following statement:

“This decision does not imply any recognition of SUP at the Olympic level. Its inclusion in the Olympic program or any other type of official recognition within the Olympic movement is something the CAS Panel had no jurisdiction or power to exercise, as it belongs exclusively to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and, in particular, to the IOC Session. It should also be noted that the International Canoe Federation (ICF) retains the right to conduct all types of SUP activities outside the Olympic movement.”

Since introducing the discipline to world championships, the ISA has held eight global events in both racing and SUP surfing formats.

“I believe it is the best decision since the ISA had already held world championships and events in this discipline, and the International Canoe Federation, realizing that SUP would be an Olympic discipline, saw an opportunity to compete for governance, since there could certainly be a greater economic incentive,” said Álvaro Solano, national representative of SUP.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games would be taking place next year and from today onwards the ISA would be in charge of the Olympic mandate.



“I consider this decision very important since the discipline has been growing very quickly and it already needed to be regulated as an Olympic sport, and it was through the ISA that I found out that the discipline existed and it is very good and fair that this decision has been made,” said Jefferson Tascon, a competitor in the National SUP Circuit.

The International Surfing Association, through its president Fernando Aguerre, added the following:

"For us, there was never any doubt that the governance of SUP at the Olympic level is legitimately based on the history, tradition, and culture of surfing. Today we feel the validation and recognition for all the years of effort and hard work that the teams at the ISA, around the world, demonstrated to ensure the continued growth of SUP."

Written by: Enrique Hernández

General Management: Marco Montero