LA JOLLA–The International Surfing Association (ISA) Saturday marked the 1-year-to-go moment when surfing is scheduled to take the stage at the Olympic Games for the first time.
Surfing will make its debut at Tokyo 2020 on July 25, 2021 when the first competition window opens and the best male and female surfers from all continents enter the ocean and become the sport’s first Olympians.
Celebrating the occasion, the ISA, National Surfing Federations and leading athletes took to social media to express their excitement and anticipation for Olympic Surfing in 2021. The Games were postponed by one year due to the global Coronavirus pandemic.
While marking the occasion, the ISA is also announced today the technical officials that will judge and officiate the Surfing competition at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The panel includes a technical director, contest director, and 11 judges – two head judges, seven judges, and two priority judges – that represent seven countries across four continents.
The judging panel will consist of: Technical director Erik Krammer (USA), contest director Marcos ‘Bukao’ Carneiro Esmanhoto (BRA), head judges Richard Pierce (USA) and Glen Elliot (AUS), judges Pritamo Ahrendt (AUS), Tory Gilkerson (USA), Masato Kato (JPN), Dan Kosoof (NZL), Luis Pereira (BRA), Nuno Trigo (POR), and Bruno Truch (FRA), priority judges Ian Buchanan (NZL), and Marcel Miranda (BRA).
The panel was approved by the ISA Executive Committee, with the nominations done in collaboration with the World Surf League (WSL), highlighting a cooperative effort between Surfing’s International Federation and professional tour. Three of the seven judges on the panel are currently working on the WSL Championship Tour.
The panel includes USA’s Tory Gilkerson, a reflection of the ISA’s commitment to promote and develop more women judges in Surfing. Gilkerson has consistently been evaluated as one of the highest performing judges at ISA World Championships in recent years, which was the foremost factor in her selection. The ISA is dedicated to building on Gilkerson’s success with targeted initiatives to further develop more women judges, also in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee and national Surfing federations around the world.
The selection criteria for the panel included an extensive review, analysis, and evaluation of all judges performances at both ISA and WSL events via objective metrics and reviews from Technical Director and head judges.