Seeking to resolve a conflict that began three years ago, the International Surfing Association requested in a press release to take the decision of the Stand Up Paddle government to the highest authorities of the International Olympic Committee after several attempts by the canoeing federation to take over the modality.

“Following recent media reports, the International Surfing Association (ISA) has today provided further key details to clarify the misinformation surrounding the governance of Stand Up Paddle,” the press release states.

The statement continues with statements by ISA President Fernando Aguerre and one of its vice presidents, the Dane Casper Steinfath, who is also a multiple champion in the sport.

Aguerre states: “The ISA certainly has a clearly defined history and tradition of governing Stand Up Paddle, dating back to 2008 when the sport was first included as a core discipline in the ISA Guidelines. Since that time, no other international federation has governed SUP in any capacity. On the contrary, we find the International Canoe Federation’s (ICF) assertions to be misleading at best. In fact, the ICF has not yet organised any world championships or even international SUP events, these are real, historical and recorded facts.

We must also question the ICF's true commitment to the interests of SUP athletes. Contrary to their denials, but for the ICF's interventions, SUP would have been included in the Sports Programme for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. We had big plans, an amazing venue and were in advanced discussions with the Buenos Aires organisers and the IOC Sports Department, but the ICF's objections caused all momentum to be lost.

By doing this, the ICF deprived young athletes from around the world of the opportunity on the world's largest youth sporting stage, thereby fundamentally impeding the development of SUP.

Since 2010, the ISA has invested heavily in time and resources in Stand Up Paddle, in terms of both events and education. The ISA has committed a cumulative total of over $5 million to the sport, a figure that does not include the work done at the national level by ISA National Federations. As of November 2016, there has been no apparent investment (or otherwise) by any other IF in SUP.

Additionally, the ISA has been the sole and exclusive organizer of the one and only SUP World Championships since 2012, growing year after year, leading to an event in 2017 that welcomed 286 athletes from a record 42 countries. During this time, no other IF has organized a SUP World Championship. Alongside the World Championships, the ISA has been the governing body for SUP promoting and ensuring the inclusion of SUP at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.

Since 2012, several multi-sport events in Central and South America, organized by regional National Olympic Committee organizations, have included both SUP Surfing and SUP Racing as medal sports under the authority of the ISA. Again, these are indisputable facts with public records.

The ISA also sanctions the Association of Paddlesurf Professionals (APP) World Tour, the only professional tour for the sport in the world. Most importantly, the APP recognises and acknowledges the ISA as the sole global governing body for SUP.

As is clear, the ISA is the only long-standing governing body for StandUp Paddle, and has existed as such without any interference or objection for a decade. It is a shame and a disservice to all involved in the sport that this authority is being challenged by the ICF. Enough is enough and we now need to set the record straight with verifiable facts, something that the recent ICF press releases lack.

Contrary to what the ICF recently reported, the ISA has continued to propose clear and reasonable solutions throughout this situation. In November 2017 we set out in writing a fair and constructive framework for the ICF that would have distinguished the roles of both international federations, while giving the ICF a well-defined scope of activities in its newfound interest in the discipline. We basically proposed that the ICF run its stand-up canoe races, as that is exactly how they classified SUP at their Congress in late 2016, as a subcategory of canoe. For the ICF, SUP racing is essentially a type of canoe. It is unfortunate that this proposal was promptly rejected by the ICF, who instead chose to undermine the mediation process. We have always sought to engage and communicate with the ICF to achieve a positive outcome for SUP, but the ICF seems to have little interest in finding a reasonable resolution.

The ICF has also failed to respect the process agreed with the IOC, including not agreeing that the fundamental question of who governs – a question that all parties involved are eager to have answered – be submitted to CAS arbitration. Instead, the ICF appears only interested in questioning the legal basis for an IF’s exclusivity to govern a sport. The ISA is ready and eager to take this question to CAS, as agreed with the IOC, but our request to the ICF’s lawyers has remained unanswered since May 2. These facts have never been mentioned by the ICF in any of its SUP-related communications.

In the absence of an agreed solution, we are convinced that the ICF must accept our request to go to CAS so that we can progress to a resolution within the interests of everyone, and most importantly the athletes and competitors participating around the world. They are definitely the ones who suffer.

Ultimately, the facts surrounding this dispute speak for themselves and, we believe, will demonstrate to CAS and the broader Olympic movement the true story of ISA SUP leadership, commitment and development.”

Meanwhile, VP Casper Steinfath reiterated his support for the ISA, explaining that the ICF's actions are misleading and that no one of substance is going to participate in ICF events seriously.