JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Despite being a three-time world champion in her sport, Liv Stone realized earlier this year that she may never get a chance to compete at the Olympic level.
The 21-year old para-surfer was one of many in the sport's international community who was distressed to find out that despite years of advocacy, para-surfing— a form of surfing that allows people with physical disabilities to ride waves on a board or wave ski— wouldn't be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“When I heard it didn't get in, I was shocked," said Stone. “Not just for my career, but for all the other athletes as well.”
With para-surfing not being selected for the Los Angeles Games, Stone and other members of the para-surfing and surfing communities are strengthening their advocacy for the sport to be included in future Paralympics, offering creative solutions to help keep their Paralympic surfing dreams afloat.
The push for para-surfing to be included in the Paralympics has been a priority for over half a decade, said Stone.
“We pushed for over five years to get into the Paris Olympics,” said Stone. “Then Paris came and we're weren't there ... I realized we need to keep pushing.”
Advocates quickly turned their efforts to the 2028 Los Angeles Games, feeling that the sport met many of the criteria needed to be considered, including a certain number of countries and International Paralympic Committee regions, a classification system based on impairments and approximate gender parity for certain divisions, said five-time para-surfing world champion Victoria Feige, who is 38.
But then came the announcement: para-surfing would be passed over the for Los Angeles Paralympics, with para-climbing being included instead.
“LA28’s assessment of Para Climbing and Para Surfing was informed by the global and domestic popularity, the universality at major international events as well as the cost and complexity of both sports within the LA28 venue master plan context,” a Los Angeles Olympics spokesperson wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
"In finalizing our proposal LA28 needed to strike a balance between its commitment to growing the Paralympic Movement and our commitment to manage the size of the Games and our financial responsibility towards the City of Los Angeles.”
Feige said that she was disappointment when she heard the announcement, but with a fresh sense of determination to get parasurfing included in the Games — be it at the Los Angeles 2028 or Brisbane 2032 Olympics, she said. “Cost is a real factor. We recognize that,” Feige said. “But I’ve really been trying to think of how can we showcase our value in terms of corporate sponsorship, how can we showcase our value in terms of viewership, and how can we, as athletes, showcase our sport in a way that would justify a higher cost."
Feige said she and others began brainstorming solutions that could help lower costs or ease logistical difficulties, including the idea that a wave pool could be used to address water safety and infrastructure concerns, or corporate sponsorships or crowd-funding could be utilized to address the higher costs.
The ideas and advocacy garnered attention, and in June an online petition asking for para-surfing to be included in the Los Angeles Games began, getting over 19,000 signatures.
The push to get para-surfing into the Paralympics also has the backing of the International Surfing Association, the world governing authority for surfing that is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, which has advocated for para-surfing to be included in the Games and hosted the ISA World Para (Adaptive) Surfing Championship since 2015.
“You don't get all the waves that you want — you don't even get all the waves you paddle for. So what do you do? You go out and paddle harder. That's what we're doing to do,” ISA president Fernando Aguerre told The AP. “We're going to continue to develop para-surfing around the world, including explaining why it should be part of the Paralympic Games.”
While the battle for para-surfing to be included in the next Paralympics is ongoing, Feige said she remains optimistic.
“If we can navigate the ocean with our disabilities, we have the great determination and creativity to find a solution for this problem as well,” said Feige. “We just need a chance to showcase what we can do.”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Chris Blowes, of Australia, duck-dives under a wave during the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships, Sept. 8, 2023, in Oceanside, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
FILE - Chris Blowes, of Australia, goes over a wave as he competes during the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, in Oceanside, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
FILE - Dariel Melendez Davial, of Costa Rica, gets ready to enter the water during the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships, Sept. 8, 2023, in Oceanside, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
KIEL, Germany (AP) — Jamal Musiala scored after 15 seconds and Harry Kane had a hat trick as Bayern Munich routed promoted Holstein Kiel 6-1 to continue Vincent Kompany's winning start as the coach on Saturday.
Musiala seized on defensive errors to score his club's third-fastest Bundesliga goal ever and Bayern was 3-0 up after just 13 minutes thanks to a precise finish from Kane and an own goal from Kiel's Nicolai Remberg.
Kane added another just before halftime and Michael Olise scored on a rebound in the 65th for his first goal since joining Bayern from Crystal Palace. Armin Gigovic salvaged some consolation with a goal for Kiel, which has lost all three of its league games since promotion, in the 82nd.
England captain Kane completed his hat trick from the penalty spot in added time after he was brought down by Carl Johansson. It was Kane's 40th Bundesliga goal from 35 games since joining Bayern last year.
Bayern is on a four-game winning run since Kompany took over for this season, three in the Bundesliga and one in the German Cup.
Bayern next plays Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, Kompany's first game as a coach in the Champions League.
Victor Boniface scored twice as Bayer Leverkusen beat Hoffenheim 4-1 to rebound from a rare Bundesliga loss, but Leipzig dropped points for the first time this season in a 0-0 draw with Union Berlin.
Ahead of playing Feyenoord in its Champions League opener on Thursday, Leverkusen got back to winning ways after losing to Leipzig 3-2 in its last game. That was the first time Xabi Alonso's title-winning team lost in the Bundesliga for 15 months.
Boniface set up Martin Terrier for Leverkusen's first goal, and scored himself soon after, leaving defender Alexander Prass sprawled on the ground as he scored past goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.
Leverkusen's three games in the league have seen a combined 15 goals scored, in part because of lapses in concentration in defense that have frustrated coach Alonso.
Mergim Berisha's goal for Hoffenheim in the 37th minute cut Leverkusen's lead to 2-1 and Alonso's team nearly conceded another soon after. However, Leverkusen retook control after the break. A penalty from Florian Wirtz and another goal from Boniface ensured a 4-1 win.
It was the first time Boniface scored twice in a game since an adductor muscle injury ruled the Nigerian striker out of much of the second half of last season as Leverkusen won the title.
Union goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow frustrated Leipzig in a goalless draw, saving a penalty from Loïs Openda and a stoppage-time free kick from David Raum. Leipzig created few clear chances in a subdued performance ahead of Thursday's Champions League visit to Atletico Madrid.
Both teams were without their coaches as Leipzig's Marco Rose was suspended following a red card against Leverkusen and Union's Bo Svensson was ill.
New signing Ermedin Demirovic scored twice as Stuttgart — which visits Real Madrid on Tuesday — beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1. Gladbach's Alassane Plea went off injured after colliding with goalkeeper Alexander Nübel while scoring his team's only goal.
Eintracht Frankfurt beat Wolfsburg 2-1 thanks to two goals from Omar Marmoush.
Junior Adamu scored twice in three minutes to give Freiburg a comeback 2-1 win over Bochum.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Bayern's Harry Kane, left, holds back Kiel's Finn Porath during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Holstein Kiel and Bayern Munich, at the Holsten stadium in Kiel, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Gregor Fischer/dpa via AP)
Bayern's Harry Kane, right, is congratulated by Kingsley Coman after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Holstein Kiel and Bayern Munich, at the Holsten stadium in Kiel, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Gregor Fischer/dpa via AP)
Frankfurt's Omar Marmoush celebrates after scoring, during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, at the Volkswagen Arena, in Wolfsburg, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Swen Pförtner/dpa via AP)
Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirovic, second from left, scores his side's second goal during a Bundesliga match between Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfB Stuttgart, in the Borussia-Park Stadium in Mönchengladbach, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)
Leipzig's Xavi Simons, left, and Berlin's Danilho Doekhi fight for the ball during a match between RB Leipzig and FC Union Berlin in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Berlin goalkeeper Frederik R'nnow reacts on the pitch during a match between RB Leipzig and FC Union Berlin in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)
Hoffenheim coach Pellegrino Matarazzo stands in the stadium before a match between TSG Hoffenheim and Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
Hoffenheim coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, right, and Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso greet each other before a match between TSG Hoffenheim and Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
Leverkusen's goalscorer Florian Wirtz, middle celebrates with teammates after scoring during a match between TSG Hoffenheim and Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso gives instructions during a match between TSG Hoffenheim and Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
