Canoes use paddles. Surfers stand on surfboards. And if someone stands on a surfboard and paddles, it ends up in a big international dispute that, after at least five years, shows no signs of going away.
The increasingly popular sport of Stand-Up Paddling is the subject of rival claims between the International Surfing Association and the International Canoeing Federation; each says it is the body that makes the rules, approves the tournaments and crowns the champs.
Now, an August tournament, billed as the World Stand-Up Paddle championships is threatened with cancellation as the Portuguese Surf Federation and ISA are suing the National Canoe Federation and ICF.
However this case turns out, the real stakes are control of a potential Olympic sport; it was originally planned to be an addition to the 2018 Youth Olympics, but was blocked by the dispute. Both sides have referred the dispute to the International Olympic Committee, which was unable to find a solution; it was then referred to IOC’s Court of Arbitration for Sport, which was also unable to find a compromise.
