Surfing is California91裸聊视频檚 official state sport and Canadian para surfer Victoria Feige wants Los Angeles to live up to that pledge in 2028.

The five-time women91裸聊视频檚 world champion from Vancouver is at the forefront of a lobby to get L.A. to introduce para surfing to the Paralympic Games.

L.A.91裸聊视频檚 organizing committee stated in June it would not propose para surfing for inclusion as a new sport in 2028. 91裸聊视频淐ost and complexity91裸聊视频� of the Summer Games was the stated rationale for para surfing91裸聊视频檚 omission.

That dumbfounded Feige. California has hosted every world para surfing championship since the first in 2015.

91裸聊视频淚 was devastated,91裸聊视频� Feige said. 91裸聊视频淚 have been hearing about the movement toward the Paralympics for para surfing since 2018.

91裸聊视频淚 won my first world title and I was urine-tested right after according to WADA anti-doping regulations. It felt important, progressive and we had this momentum.91裸聊视频�

There are nine para surf classifications encompassing missing limbs, prosthetics, paralysis and visual impairment.

Feige, 39, competes in the women91裸聊视频檚 kneeling classification. She mistimed a jump while snowboarding in Colorado at age 18. She fractured vertebrae in her spine and was paralyzed below the waist.

91裸聊视频淚 have been so lucky and grateful to be able to surf again and find a community and compete for my country and reach the highest levels and push my sport forward in ways I never considered,91裸聊视频� Feige said.

91裸聊视频淲hile I am in still sort of the prime of my life, I would like to help my sport reach this global stage and I would love to compete for Canada and win the gold for Canada.91裸聊视频�

The International Surfing Association has turned its attention to Brisbane in 2032, but Feige isn91裸聊视频檛 giving up on 2028.

A 91裸聊视频淪ave Paralympic Surfing L.A. 202891裸聊视频� petition started by para surfer Jack Bogle has almost 27,000 signatures.

Feige has appeared in videos with surfing star Kelly Slater and musician Jack Johnson, who have endorsed para surfing for Paralympic inclusion.

She91裸聊视频檚 planning a California outdoor wave pool event following November91裸聊视频檚 world championship 91裸聊视频渁s a proof of concept to show that para surfing can be held in L.A. in 2028,91裸聊视频� Feige said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 like a football field and a big hydraulic press that creates a surfable wave on demand,91裸聊视频� Feige explained. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 standardized and they91裸聊视频檝e had surfing pro level competitions there before. I91裸聊视频檓 wondering if it91裸聊视频檚 an option to make it more cost-effective and logistically easy to incorporate it into the Games.91裸聊视频�

The first world championship in 2015 had 69 competitors from 18 countries.

Each country can enter up to two surfers per classification. The 2023 world championship in Huntington Beach, Calif., had 180 athletes from 27 countries. The number of competitive para surfers internationally is estimated at just under 500, according to Bogle91裸聊视频檚 petition.

Canada has roughly 25 para surfers classified in seven of the nine divisions, said Surf Canada director Pascale Martineau, who co-founded the organization91裸聊视频檚 adaptive surfing committee and has been the team91裸聊视频檚 manager at world championships.

91裸聊视频淲orldwide, I feel we did so much work. We have an amazing team working on classification with the ISA,91裸聊视频� Martineau said.

91裸聊视频淲hen the news came that the L.A. 2028 organizing committee did not go through with para surfing for the Paralympics because of cost and complexity, it was a big shock. All adaptive sports come with cost and complexity.91裸聊视频�

Canadian wheelchair rugby co-captain Trevor Hirschfield, who competed in his fifth Paralympic Games in Paris, gave para surfing a try in 2020 because he wanted an outdoor sport to pursue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A year later, he was on a board at the world championship in Pismo Beach, Calif., in the prone 2 division, in which athletes require assistance to catch a wave and get on a board safely.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e been to Paralympics and world championships before and I thought the world para surf championships were amazing,91裸聊视频� Hirschfield said. 91裸聊视频淚t was very professional and world-class and I was kind of blown away by it.

91裸聊视频淐alifornia, L.A. hosting the Games and not picking up para surfing is a big miss on their part.91裸聊视频�

Aquatic beach chairs can help surfers with mobility issues get into the water.

91裸聊视频淚 just crawl,91裸聊视频� Feige said. 91裸聊视频淚 push my board beside me. It looks a bit crazy, but it means I can go surfing independently.

91裸聊视频淥nce I91裸聊视频檓 in the water, I91裸聊视频檓 such a good swimmer and paddler, and I taught myself how to duck dive, I91裸聊视频檓 just as good as anybody else in the water who is able-bodied.91裸聊视频�

Feige acknowledged the clock is ticking on her Paralympic dreams, but she wants people with disabilities to see that surfing is possible.

91裸聊视频淚 really care about bringing more people into the sport, not just for the Paralympics, but it gives so much to be able to access the environment and feel alive,91裸聊视频� she explained.

91裸聊视频淥ne of the things I really like about para surfing is there91裸聊视频檚 no tokenism in the ocean. There91裸聊视频檚 no special treatment. If you catch a good wave and you surf it well, you did that. It91裸聊视频檚 very liberating and empowering that way.91裸聊视频�

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