USA Surfing sends Carissa Moore, Griffin Colapinto, Cole Houshmand, Gabriela Bryan, Sawyer Lindblad and Jake Marshall to the ISA World Surfing Games, chasing LA28 slots while Orange County supervises from the parking lot
The Road To LA Runs Through Peru
SAN CLEMENTE. The United States is going all out for the next Olympic surfing qualifier, according to The Inertia’s report on Team USA’s plans. USA Surfing has selected a team for the ISA World Surfing Games in Peru, running November 6 to 15, 2026, where the winning men’s and women’s teams earn an Olympic slot for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The squad includes Carissa Moore, Griffin Colapinto, Cole Houshmand, Gabriela Bryan, Sawyer Lindblad and Jake Marshall.
In San Clemente, home to several members of the team and to the Olympic venue at Lower Trestles, residents greeted the news with pride, excitement and a reasonable question: why does the road to an Olympics held at our beach go through Peru?
The Rules, Explained
The answer lies in Olympic qualification rules, which, like most Olympic qualification rules, appear to have been designed by a committee of mathematicians who were not allowed to go surfing. According to The Inertia, the winning team earns one slot, which the country can assign to any surfer, not only those who competed in Peru. If a country fills its quota of two surfers per gender through other events, the win becomes an extra slot for a third surfer. USA Surfing chief executive Greg Hulsizer said the number-one goal is to earn the qualification spot for Team USA in both divisions and to field a full team of three men and three women at LA28.
A San Clemente surf shop employee who tried to explain the system to customers said he had given up. I tell them, he said, our guys go to Peru, they win, then maybe someone else surfs in the Olympics, unless they qualify another way, in which case three people surf. They nod. Then they ask if we have any wax.
The Orange County Connection
Southern California’s surf towns have produced a remarkable share of America’s elite surfers. San Clemente in particular has a reputation as a factory of professional talent, thanks to its consistent waves, its surf culture and the proximity of Trestles, a training ground where young surfers can practise on a world-class wave almost every day. Local pride runs high. At the coffee shops near the pier, conversations this week turned to the team, to Peru’s waves and to whether anyone had ever heard of a surfer from Peru complaining about the parking at Lowers.
A San Clemente grandmother who has watched local kids grow up to become professionals said she would be following the event closely. I remember when these boys were little, she said. They would come into my yard to get their balls back. Now they represent the country. I hope they win. Also, I hope they remember they still owe me for a window.
The Competition
Team USA will not have it easy. Brazil’s team includes Italo Ferreira, Yago Dora, Miguel Pupo and Luana Silva, a formidable line-up even without Gabriel Medina, who The Inertia notes was left off the squad. Surfing powerhouses such as Australia, Japan and France will also be competing hard for Olympic slots. Peru itself, with its long left-hand points and passionate surf culture, will have the advantage of home waves.
A San Clemente surf coach said she was confident but cautious. Brazil is always dangerous, she said. They are aggressive, talented and they do airs that make my knees hurt just watching. But our team knows how to compete. They grew up surfing Trestles with a hundred people in the water. Peru will feel like a private session.
The Scheduling Clash
The Games overlap with the Cloud 9 Championship Tour event in the Philippines, creating a scheduling headache for surfers on the elite tour. The ISA is giving Championship Tour surfers a free pass into round three, which begins no earlier than November 11. That means some of the world’s best surfers may compete in the Philippines, then fly to Peru, adjust to a new time zone and new waves, and surf for Olympic qualification within days. Travel agents have described the itinerary as aggressive. Surfers have described it as normal.
The Parking Lot Committee
Back home, San Clemente’s unofficial parking lot committee, a group of retired surfers who gather at the Trestles trailhead most mornings to discuss swell, politics and other people’s boards, has been following developments closely. The committee has issued no formal statement, but sources say it has unanimously agreed that the team should win, that the Olympics will ruin parking for a summer and that someone should tell the International Olympic Committee about the best taco shop on El Camino Real.
The Big Picture
For American surfing, the stakes are high. Hosting the Olympics on home soil, at one of the country’s most famous waves, is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. A full team of three men and three women at Trestles would give the United States its best chance of medals and would bring enormous attention to surfing across the country. The road to that goal begins in Peru, but its heart is in San Clemente.
The Last Word
Asked what message he had for the team, a veteran Trestles local thought carefully, as one does before speaking on matters of national importance. Win in Peru, he said. Come home. Win at Lowers. And please, for the love of everything, do not tell anyone how good it is when there is no one out.