CAS Brought in to Mediate Between the Federations of Canoe and Surfing

(ATR) Everyone defends their truth.

Proof of that can be found in the confrontation between the International Canoe Federation and the International Surfing Association in the case of Stand Up Paddling (SUP).

Both bodies intend to adopt SUP before its likely inclusion in the Olympic Program as early as the Paris Games in 2024.

The SUP requires standing on a long board with the help of a paddle to increase speed and maneuvering capabilites. It is not only a wave sport like surfing, but it is also practiced aroundd lakes and rivers like canoeing.

"From the moment the races start in SUP, the board has no influence because if you do not row you do not advance. The paddle becomes the main element and therefore it is clearly a Canoeing sport," says Spain’s José Perurena , International Canoe Federation president.

Perurena also argues that in the past boards were three meters long, designed to "navigate" on top of a wave; now he says boards are manufactured that are almost five meters long and 50 cm wide "which makes It a canoe. "

Such is the conflict that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is taking action on the matter.

Perurena underlines that the dispute is a matter unrelated to personal relationships considering, he says, his friendship of more than 10 years with Argentina’s Fernando Aguerre, his counterpart at the helm of the International Surfing Association.

According to what Aguerre recently told Around The Rings, no fair solution has been given to surfing, which organizes Stand Up Paddling (SUP) world championships since 2008.

The debate has reached the point that it has even required the intervention of naval engineers to certify if SUP is a canoe or not.

"Given all the activities carried out with the paddle as a basic element, SUP is a canoe," argues the Canoe President, who also competed in that sport at the Mexico ’68 Games.

"The exclusivity of a sport cannot be found in a single federation," contends Perurena, who is also member of the International Olympic Committee.

He says he has proposed five possible solutions to the ISA but none was accepted, so the Court of Arbitration for Sport was brought in.

The last of these proposals suggested that when the SUP was done in the open sea, the International Surfing Association would be in charge; and when it was held in bays, lakes, rivers and fresh water courses, ICF would be responsible for the SUP.

A meeting between the two Federations with the IOC president, Thomas Bach, in January 2017, failed to produce a solution either.

"Now is the time for lawyers," said the Madrid-born leader who was re-elected this month as president of the International Association of World Games (IWGA).

"Since we are in conflict and not to create more tension, we decided not to include SUP in the program of the World Games of Birmingham in 2021," he said.

Regardless of CAS’ final decision "that I will abide by", Perurena informed that this discipline will continue to belong partly to the ICF.

It is already included in the next four World Championships until 2021, in World Cups, European competitions, and starting in 2019 in the Asian Championships.

The ICF president clarifies that he only fulfills a mandate from his General Assembly that determined that Stand Up Paddling is a modality within the federation.

"If the meeting in November orders me to stop, then we stop, but if you decide to continue with the investments, with the costs, we will do so," he said.

Meanwhile surfing will make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 as one of the five additional sports suggested by event organizers and approved by the IOC.

Written by Miguel Hernandez

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