"If the US bids for the 2024 Olympics, and if it were to go to either Los Angeles or San Francisco, it would be perfect for surfing," he told insidethegames. "Although surfing started in Polynesia, it arrived throughout the world via California. We can pretty much say that surfing is California. It's a global sport, but the soul of surfing is Californian. When you think of California you think of Hollywood, of endless sunny days, and of course, you think of surfing."

Fernando Aguerre, President of the International Surfing Association, pictured last year. He has rising ambitions for his sport's inclusion in the Olympics following the recent Agenda 2020 Session ©Getty Images

Aguerre, who founded the sports brand Reef with his brother Santiago in the 1980s and competed at the 1993 ISA World Surfing Championship, is out on the waves most days in San Diego. He carries surfing in his own soul, and his enthusiasm for everything to do with the sport swells like the ocean - which may partly explain why he was recently re-elected as ISA President for an eighth term, in company with two new vice-presidents - double Stand-Up Paddle world champion Casper Steinfath and Barbara Kendall, New Zealand's Olympic Windsurfing gold medallist and IOC member.

Not every surfer wants to be in the Olympics by any means. For some, that ambition runs counter to some of the purer notions operating in their sport. But Aguerre is convinced that such an ambition would be mutually beneficial. And what has made it possible is new wave technology, which has enabled surfing to set up "surf parks" in which waves of identical power can be generated within precise periods of time.

"Man-made wave technology is the single most important game-changer for us if we want to gain Olympic status," Aguerre said. "This means we are no longer dependent on nature to create the waves necessary for competition - we can determine the size of the waves, and the timing of the competition, which is essential in terms of ticketing and TV."

Barbara Kendall, New Zealand's 1992 Olympic windsurfing champion, in action at the 2004 Athens Games. She is now one of Aguerre's vice-presidents within the ISA ©Getty Images

"Ten years ago Olympic ambitions would not have been realistic. But now people who have never even been to the ocean will have the opportunity to surf on consistent, high-performance waves.

"We haven't worked out full details yet, but if you talk for instance of an Olympic event involving 32 men and 32 women, representing a similar range of countries, then the whole event will probably not exceed eight hours - or you could have two days of competition at four hours each."

Agurre believes surfing would offer "something unique" to the Olympic Games.

"It is a sport that already has incredible youth appeal," he said. "This is valuable for the future of the Olympic Movement and with our natural focus on youth, surfing would bring renewed attention and interest in the Olympic Movement. A visually compelling sport, surfing's inclusion in the Summer Games would produce a very similar impact to the one produced by the inclusion of snowboarding in the Winter Games.

"There are an estimated 14 million surfers aged 12 to 24, all seeking to watch our sport. If surfing has the honour of becoming an Olympic event then we can offer a vast, new audience that an Olympic channel can capitalise upon - reaching young fans globally to promote the power of sport.

'When you think of California...you think of surfing" - guys, gals, guitar - and a Ford Mustang - on the beach in 1964 ©Getty Images

"In 1994, when I took over as President, the ISA had 32 national members - we now have 91 across five continents and we plan to have 100 member nations in 2015. Surfing is growing fast globally and this is great news for the whole industry.

On the subject of wave park technology, Aguerre added: "Flexible, multiuse venues and infrastructure would reduce costs and expand the ROI (Return On Investment) to a city, state or country and newly established and tested wave technology would enable the IOC and ISA to create a venue free from the geographical restriction of natural waves.

"Not only would wave parks create a wonderful sporting amphitheatre, they would also serve as a social hub for communities long after the Games have left town.

"Olympic inclusion would also hugely benefit surfing as a sport.

"Surfing is growing fast all over the world. There are 35 million surfers globally who participate in more than 100 countries and we expect 50 million participants by 2020 - our reach continues to expand.

A surfers' wave pool at Virginia, US in 2009. Man-made waves have enabled surfing to mount a serious bid for Olympic inclusion ©Getty Images





"When you put together TV coverage, live webcasts and different forms of social media, our larger competitions regularly engage between 50 and 100 million people - competitions such as the World Junior Championships, the World Stand Up Racing Championships. Even our Masters is at that level.

"The ISA has been responsible for developing and growing the sport - particularly in Asia, Africa and South America. The latest ISA member federations include Algeria, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Cayman Islands, Nauru, Nepal and Bangladesh.

"Surfing was on the Sports Programme at the South American Beach Games in Venezeula in May this year and we have just been in China for the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival.

Surfing is one of the most naturally spectacular of sports - as evidenced by this action from Bronte Beach, Sydney in 2012 ©Getty Images

"All of these things prove that our strategy is working but we will continue to work hard to develop the sport around the world. The Olympic Games would be the perfect platform for us to promote the sports unique culture and inherently youthful values.

"The Games would be the pinnacle of our sport and a global stage for a wonderful exhibition of talent, skill and world class surfing competition. Participating in the Olympic Games would also be the pinnacle for our athletes - providing them with the unique opportunity to compete under their nation's flag as part of a united team while mixing with other global sports stars in a multicultural environment."

But if surfing in the Olympics is a good idea, the question remains over how that good idea may be turned into a reality following the wide-ranging discussions prompted by the new IOC President Thomas Bach.

Before the IOC Session in Monaco, Aguerre told insidethegames that he was cautiously optimistic about what might transpire.  "If there's one thing I have learned in my time being involved in the Olympic Movement, it is that major change does not come quickly or easily," he said.

"With the proposals on the table, I think this is a very important moment for the Olympic Movement. The proposals represent real progress and provide an exciting new direction which we embrace. This is the beginning of an exciting new era for the Olympic Movement and one which we hope surfing can play a key part in.

"We encourage and support the IOC President and membership in considering these important proposals."

IOC President Thomas Bach waves the Olympic flag at the Closing Ceremony of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games. At the recent Agenda 2020 Session in Monaco the President grasped a more demanding item, namely the flexible future of the Games ©Getty Images


Reflecting upon the upshot of the IOC deliberations a few days later, Aguerre was broadly – but not wholly - content.

"It was very interesting to see the swift support for the Agenda 2020 proposals, which was a tribute to the way all had been set out. President Bach's leadership of the discussion and decisions on Agenda 2020 was impeccable.

"He not only encouraged thoughtful dialogue and debate on critical issues such as the sports programme and Olympic Channel, but he also was open and transparent, as the response from the membership showed.

"With regards to how the sport programme will be determined going forward, I think the most important thing for us is that the President now has more flexibility to focus on events versus sports within some limits and based on the input from the International Federation and the Organising Committees. There are no more core sports and the previous limits are now less rigid.

"Based on the discussion and questions in the session, I think we are all interested to see how this will work in practice, but it is clear the President has a very strong mandate to move forward in implementing these changes.

"A very important change is that the old cap on 28 sports - which are really 28 sports federations - is over. But I'm not sure how the Olympic Charter will operate now.

"President Bach explained that if the organisers would agree to cover any additional costs for a new event, even if this means over 10,500 athletes, the IOC would probably look at this and might agree for the new event. When proposals mentioned the new cap of 10,500 athletes, it used the word 'approximately'.

"But to be included, an event has to be from a sport that meets all the relevant criteria for the IOC.

"There were questions on this from Princess Haya and the Princess Royal - about exactly how this will operate, and how it was going to be rolled out.

"Franco Carraro explained that final decisions on events included in the Games in the past had been taken one year after the Games, that is, three years before the next one, and that there would be no change in this. So for instance if there are to be any changes for the 2020 Tokyo Games, they need to be made by 2017.

"But maybe there is a conflict here with bidding cities needing to decide their sports seven years ahead of the Games.

"So was I excited by Agenda 2020? Yes. Are the decisions agreed positive ones? Yes. But do we know how they will be enacted? No.

"Does the IOC need to make the information available which shows in detail how this is going to happen? Yes. Especially the relation between allowing new events into the Games and new sports having to be voted in as suitable additions might need to be clarified."

One of the more pressing matters to be deliberated upon may be the current system whereby the 28 sports currently within the Olympic Programme receive a fixed percentage of proceeds from the Games. There is likely to be some resistance from them to their share being reduced to accommodate new events.

What is not in any doubt, however, is that surfing ticks the box with which the IOC has become increasingly concerned in recent years - it is definitively, in Aguerre's phrase, "cool for kids and teens".

And that coolness is intrinsically involved in new technologies which have given this sport a suitably fluid profile.

Surfing also enjoys a prime position within network TV, including its place among the cool collection of ESPN's X Games. And as Aguerre points out, there has been a steady democratisation within the sport, with those riding the waves producing their own multiplicity of images and videos for internet and social media.

"The biggest change in surfing over the last three or four years has been the arrival of portable, waterproof cameras that can be fixed onto boards," Aguerre said. "They have had huge sales because they are easily available and very cheap - around $3-$4 (£2-3/€2.50-3.50). It works for all the so called lifestyle sports - you can have the camera on your helmet, or on your wrist. This has revolutionised the amount of stills photography and video content relating to surfing.

A paddle board surfer takes to the water this year wearing one of the helmet cameras which have helped to transform the image - and images - of the sport ©Getty Images

"From the point of view of live streaming of content on the internet, surfing has been making use of this process for around 15 years, since the internet really got started.

"In terms of covering surfing you have traditionally had cameras with zoom lenses being used on the beach, and other cameras being operated from boats.

"You used to see surfing footage shot by helicopters hovering overhead, but this was a dangerous practice which created a lot of wind blowing down onto the waves, which wasn't safe for the surfers. Also, that amount of extra wind power could sometimes make the difference between a good and a bad wave by changing its speed and shape.

"But increasingly people are using cameras mounted on drones which hover above the action and follow the surfers. Drones can cost as little as $1,500-$2,000 (£1,000-1,400/€1,200-1,700), and the footage they gain is easily viewed on many websites devoted to the sport.

"Twenty years ago surfing was regarded as a niche interest, in the same way as fishing was, and it wouldn't make it onto network TV as it was seen as being too specific. But that has all changed now."

Surf's on an Olympic up...

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. His latest book Foul Play – the Dark Arts of Cheating in Sport (Bloomsbury £8.99) is available at the insidethegames.biz shop. To follow him on Twitter click here.