Photo: WSL/Ryder 

Kelly Slater, the greatest of all time, gave his opinion for the first time on the new qualification criteria for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, clearly expressing his opposition but also admitting to being very ill-informed about it.

Interviewed on behalf of Stab by Dane Reynolds and Dooma Fahrenfort, Kelly first said: “I received some messages about it, but I think they were talking about reversing it and having the ISA Games instead of the world tour?”

Fahrenfort responded by explaining a bit, and Slater said: “You can have two male or female surfers who are the exception and are the best in the world and they're not on the tour, but let's face it, the best in the world are on the tour… That's where they are, it's stupid not to use the world tour as a qualifier, it's that simple… And you know, I really like Fernando and I appreciate what he's done for surfing; if it weren't for him, I don't think surfing would be in the Olympics right now.”

The greatest of all time added: “But I think it’s crazy to revert to the ISA Games where you have a different format, four-person series, these teams you have to be on and there’s a way to get in… It creates greater potential for international nations to be in the games but there’s a 100% chance that that group won’t be the best and to me that’s crazy.”

And he concluded: “I don’t know if it opens up the opportunity to make it easier… Obviously, whoever qualifies from the tour will have an easier time winning a medal, which is great for them, but it also potentially creates this situation where maybe people will start boycotting it because they’ll think this is nonsense… We’re investing our whole lives, our whole year, to be on the tour and qualify and be on the tour and be with the best in the world, and now we have to go through this completely different qualification process to get to the Olympics… Who’s running the show here? It’s silly.”

Slater pointed out that the hierarchical order wasn't reversed; the World Tour remains the top-tier ranking system. The prize money decreased; that was the biggest change.

He also stated that those who qualify through the tour will do best, but this may not necessarily be the case, as those who compete in the World Surfing Games and qualify may be in great shape and also be on the CT.

He also overlooked, with respect to the fact that it benefits the internationals, that being with the starving CTs will actually harm them instead of benefiting them.