Huddled around a table in a Tofino hotel lobby, a group of athletes and visionaries plot a dream which could materialize 7,000 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean.
As waves crash just outside in the western Vancouver Island town, a cross-section of competitive surfers, event organizers and Olympic committee members discuss the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.
In roughly 1,200 days, the Tokyo Olympics will offer many firsts. Surfing, along with skateboarding and karate, will have its maiden voyage at the world’s greatest sporting event, and an intrepid group of Island athletes want to take the sport from the periphery to the Olympic podium.
“With the Olympic announcement it is essentially a catalyst,” said Surf Canada President Dom Domic. “Things are getting much more serious now in terms of athletes on the top end, and we have some real contenders in Canada.”
Led by Surf Canada, an official push is on to secure federal funding and develop Canada’s first-ever Olympic surf team.
“Obviously we are not Australia, not American, not Brazil or even France. We are not a top-tier surfing country, but we have world class talent on Vancouver Island,” said Domic.
Still years away, the unofficial team is already scouting frigid coastal breaks for potential Olympians, and at the top of the list is a diminutive 14-year-old girl from Tofino with some big desire and talent.
“It has been my dream, like, forever to go to the Olympics,” said Mathea Olin. Just entering her teenage years, the blonde girl with a permanent smile has the surfing chops to go all the way and the organizers behind the Olympic push know it.
Olin, who is a constant top contender in Canadian surfing competitions, broke into the international scene in a big way. Last year in Portugal, the Canadian youngster placed ninth in the International Surfing Association’s World Junior event.
“I want to dedicate my life to getting to the Olympics,” said Olin. “And taking female surfing, like women’s surfing to a different level.”
Olin and a handful of other top Canadian riders have a long road ahead. Not only do organizers need to get federal funding to push training to a full-time job, but also to simply qualify in a sport where Canada is just now making ripples on competitive circuits.
“Let’s be clear, Canadians can win at any sport we contend in,” said Olympic Committee Vice President Peter Lawless. “We show up, we can win.”
Sitting at the Tofino table alongside hopeful surfers were top Olympic committee members who aim to help the young sport ride a wave into the mainstream.
Along with helping organizers fill out forms and track down funding, committee members are underlining the importance of the Olympic experience and the impact it can have on a sport.
“The most important day for surfing is not the day they compete at the Olympic games,” said Lawless. ”It is the day after they compete in 2020. It’s about what we have left behind to grow the culture of surfing.”
Photo courtesy: Dom Domic
Fresh off a trip to Tokyo to scout locations and speak with Japanese officials, Surf Canada says funding remains a key concern.
According to president Dom Domic, the grass roots organization has sought out private donors to help with initial training and competition costs, and doesn’t expect Sport Canada will offer any Olympic funding until 2019.
