No Latin American judges were selected for the official panel that will officiate at the debut of Olympic surfing in Tokyo 2021, the ISA reported today in an official statement.

At the Latin American level, there are two Brazilian judges, one from the panel and another from priority, and the competition director will be the same one as in all ISA events since the nineties, Marcos Bukao.

The list released is as follows:

Technical Director:
Erik Krammer (USA)

Competition Director:
Marcos 'Bukao' Carneiro Esmanhoto (BRA)

Chief Judges:
Richard Pierce (USA), Glen Elliot (AUS)

Judges:
Pritamo Ahrendt (AUS), Tory Gilkerson (USA), Masato Kato (JPN), Dan Kosoof (NZL), Luis Pereira (BRA), Nuno Trigo (POR), Bruno Truch (FRA)

 Judges of preference:
Ian Buchanan (NZL), Marcel Miranda (BRA)

“The panel was approved by the ISA Executive Committee, with the nominations confirmed in collaboration with the World Surf League (WSL), highlighting a cooperative effort between the International Surfing Federation and the professional league. Three of the seven judges on the panel are currently working on the WSL Championship Tour,” the statement said.

“The selection criteria for the panel included an extensive review, analysis and evaluation of all judges’ performances at ISA and WSL events through objective metrics and reviews by the Technical Director and Head Judges,” they add.

ISA President Fernando Aguerre said of the appointments: “We are pleased to announce an exceptional panel of Olympic surfing judges who represent the highest levels of international experience in our sport. With the appointment of technical officials as one of the many responsibilities of the ISA as the International Olympic Federation, we pride ourselves on the quality and reliability of our judging process. This is another key part that will ensure a historic debut for surfing at the Games.”

"The integrity, impartiality and professionalism of the judging process for Surfing's debut at Tokyo 2020 is a high priority for the ISA. We have invested a lot of time and effort, also in coordination with the WSL, to ensure that our judges meet the standards of excellence that the Olympic Games require and deserve," concluded the Argentine.

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