Spain's national surfing championship was abruptly suspended on Saturday after the judges first went on strike due to poor working conditions and then because the competitors refused to compete in response to a proposal from the federation that they were not happy with, DUKE and social media reported.

After a week of championships in Valdoviño, Galicia, the judges went on strike on Friday and the next morning, when the open competitions were due to take to the water, they were asked to surf on two podiums with three judges who were not known to be qualified.

Those who had worked all week left en masse because the working conditions are bad and they are owed money. According to the competitors, this situation was made known to the authorities several events ago and even at the beginning of this one.

Competitors are also owed money, world number five Gonzalo Gutierrez from the 2022 championship told DUKE.

“It was like the straw that broke the camel’s back. We all decided in the open and other categories that this was not the way to do things, to hold a championship as important as the national one that has ISA qualifications and therefore Olympic consequences. We have taken a stand. I think it is very good. Let’s see if we can achieve changes as a result of this. We will soon have elections and hopefully there will be changes,” Gutiérrez told DUKE.

Some posts on social media highlighted: “This had to happen after so much time with the federation like this. It's a shame that they make us come here, putting money out of our own pockets so that they can cancel a championship that is so important for all athletes. I hope that what has happened serves to reflect on what is happening and that things change. I encourage all surfers,” wrote Yago Domínguez.

“Spanish Championship suspended. Bad management by many who were behind this. We are the ones who are harmed. Things have to change now. Not to mention all the expenses that we competitors have incurred to be here and then not compete because of their mistakes,” wrote the Canary Islander Luis Díaz.

“After the judges decided yesterday to go on strike and not judge any more, today we athletes are being offered the option of judging with three judges on a double podium and including athletes and coaches to judge to complete the panels, in a Spanish championship in which we are playing for places in the world championships with Olympic qualification... This is nothing new, the federation's poor management comes from a long way back, and we suffer from it as athletes, coaches, family members and judges. We spend our money and our time travelling to compete, and then we have to wait years to be paid what they owe us,” wrote Iker Amatriain.

The federation published a note that the event is postponed until further notice: “The events of the 2024 Spanish Surfing Championship that have been affected by the judges' decision not to continue with the judging work will be postponed to future dates. These dates will be communicated through official channels.”

“The Spanish Surfing Federation deeply regrets any inconvenience that may have been caused by the suspension of the most important official competition in the federation calendar,” they concluded.

Fesurfing on Instagram is broadcasting what is happening with the Spanish longboard and SUP championship that apparently took place without any problems.