Surfing is CaliforniaB次元官网网址檚 official state sport and Canadian para surfer Victoria Feige wants Los Angeles to live up to that pledge in 2028.
The five-time womenB次元官网网址檚 world champion from Vancouver is at the forefront of a lobby to get L.A. to introduce para surfing to the Paralympic Games.
L.A.B次元官网网址檚 organizing committee stated in June it would not propose para surfing for inclusion as a new sport in 2028. B次元官网网址淐ost and complexityB次元官网网址� of the Summer Games was the stated rationale for para surfingB次元官网网址檚 omission.
That dumbfounded Feige. California has hosted every world para surfing championship since the first in 2015.
B次元官网网址淚 was devastated,B次元官网网址� Feige said. B次元官网网址淚 have been hearing about the movement toward the Paralympics for para surfing since 2018.
B次元官网网址淚 won my first world title and I was urine-tested right after according to WADA anti-doping regulations. It felt important, progressive and we had this momentum.B次元官网网址�
There are nine para surf classifications encompassing missing limbs, prosthetics, paralysis and visual impairment.
Feige, 39, competes in the womenB次元官网网址檚 kneeling classification. She mistimed a jump while snowboarding in Colorado at age 18. She fractured vertebrae in her spine and was paralyzed below the waist.
B次元官网网址淚 have been so lucky and grateful to be able to surf again and find a community and compete for my country and reach the highest levels and push my sport forward in ways I never considered,B次元官网网址� Feige said.
B次元官网网址淲hile I am in still sort of the prime of my life, I would like to help my sport reach this global stage and I would love to compete for Canada and win the gold for Canada.B次元官网网址�
The International Surfing Association has turned its attention to Brisbane in 2032, but Feige isnB次元官网网址檛 giving up on 2028.
A B次元官网网址淪ave Paralympic Surfing L.A. 2028B次元官网网址� petition started by para surfer Jack Bogle has almost 27,000 signatures.
Feige has appeared in videos with surfing star Kelly Slater and musician Jack Johnson, who have endorsed para surfing for Paralympic inclusion.
SheB次元官网网址檚 planning a California outdoor wave pool event following NovemberB次元官网网址檚 world championship B次元官网网址渁s a proof of concept to show that para surfing can be held in L.A. in 2028,B次元官网网址� Feige said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like a football field and a big hydraulic press that creates a surfable wave on demand,B次元官网网址� Feige explained. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 standardized and theyB次元官网网址檝e had surfing pro level competitions there before. IB次元官网网址檓 wondering if itB次元官网网址檚 an option to make it more cost-effective and logistically easy to incorporate it into the Games.B次元官网网址�
The first world championship in 2015 had 69 competitors from 18 countries.
Each country can enter up to two surfers per classification. The 2023 world championship in Huntington Beach, Calif., had 180 athletes from 27 countries. The number of competitive para surfers internationally is estimated at just under 500, according to BogleB次元官网网址檚 petition.
Canada has roughly 25 para surfers classified in seven of the nine divisions, said Surf Canada director Pascale Martineau, who co-founded the organizationB次元官网网址檚 adaptive surfing committee and has been the teamB次元官网网址檚 manager at world championships.
B次元官网网址淲orldwide, I feel we did so much work. We have an amazing team working on classification with the ISA,B次元官网网址� Martineau said.
B次元官网网址淲hen the news came that the L.A. 2028 organizing committee did not go through with para surfing for the Paralympics because of cost and complexity, it was a big shock. All adaptive sports come with cost and complexity.B次元官网网址�
Canadian wheelchair rugby co-captain Trevor Hirschfield, who competed in his fifth Paralympic Games in Paris, gave para surfing a try in 2020 because he wanted an outdoor sport to pursue during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A year later, he was on a board at the world championship in Pismo Beach, Calif., in the prone 2 division, in which athletes require assistance to catch a wave and get on a board safely.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been to Paralympics and world championships before and I thought the world para surf championships were amazing,B次元官网网址� Hirschfield said. B次元官网网址淚t was very professional and world-class and I was kind of blown away by it.
B次元官网网址淐alifornia, L.A. hosting the Games and not picking up para surfing is a big miss on their part.B次元官网网址�
Aquatic beach chairs can help surfers with mobility issues get into the water.
B次元官网网址淚 just crawl,B次元官网网址� Feige said. B次元官网网址淚 push my board beside me. It looks a bit crazy, but it means I can go surfing independently.
B次元官网网址淥nce IB次元官网网址檓 in the water, IB次元官网网址檓 such a good swimmer and paddler, and I taught myself how to duck dive, IB次元官网网址檓 just as good as anybody else in the water who is able-bodied.B次元官网网址�
Feige acknowledged the clock is ticking on her Paralympic dreams, but she wants people with disabilities to see that surfing is possible.
B次元官网网址淚 really care about bringing more people into the sport, not just for the Paralympics, but it gives so much to be able to access the environment and feel alive,B次元官网网址� she explained.
B次元官网网址淥ne of the things I really like about para surfing is thereB次元官网网址檚 no tokenism in the ocean. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no special treatment. If you catch a good wave and you surf it well, you did that. ItB次元官网网址檚 very liberating and empowering that way.B次元官网网址�
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