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Both federations, which are part of the Olympic Games
program, have claimed the sport as their own as they look to tap
into a completely new and growing market to boost revenues amid
growing competition from other sports and recreational
activities popular among youths.
"We are pleased that the issue regarding the governance of SUP
... is now before CAS," International Surfing Association (ISA)
president Fernando Aguerre said in a statement on Thursday. He
said CAS had agreed to mediate new discussions over the
governance at the request of both federations.
"As a committed member of the Olympic Family, we believe CAS is
the appropriate forum to have this case heard fairly."
The ISA has been organizing competitions for years in SUP, a
sport where athletes stand on a board and move forward using a
long paddle.
But the International Canoe Federation (ICF), which has also had
SUP events on its competition calendar for years, says the use
of the paddle automatically makes it part of its organization.
Surfing is one of five new sports to be included in the 2020
Tokyo Olympics. The ISA had unsuccessfully tried to include SUP
in those Games as a surfing discipline.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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