Should Surf Parks Host the Olympics? A New Article from The Inertia Thinks So

A new article from The Inertia argues that surf parks should be the host for surfing in the Olympics. 

The op-ed from Alexander Haro argues that wave pools level the playing field with guaranteed waves, making each surfer showcase their best abilities in the exact same conditions. Plus, not every country even has waves to surf, which is exclusively a problem for the sport of surfing in the Olympics. 

This issue is partly why the next summer games in France will host surfing thousands of miles away in Tahiti, which is part of French Polynesia. The decision comes with controversy and environmental concerns.

While this is an excellent argument for the business of surf parks, there is also a level of blasphemy for longtime surfers. However, as Surf Park Central documented in our Consumer Trends Report, more and more surfers have come around to the idea of wave pools. In fact, the number dropped from 22% of surfers saying they wouldn’t use a wave pool in 2015 to just 1% of surfers in 2022.

What do you think, should the Olympics host surfing at a surf park? Read the full article here.