Olympic surfing: Can the exclusive sport become accessible?
French surfer Johanne Defay stands for a portrait during World Surf League practice sessions at Surf Ranch on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. Defay wouldn't consider herself a poor surfer -- her father, after all, is a doctor, and the mega surfing brand, Roxy, started sponsoring her when she was 12, which included training opportunities in Australia and Hawaii. But the Reunion Island native recalls how devastating it was to her career when the sponsorship deal ended right before she reached the professional WSL championship tour in 2014. "This is the sacrifice that I'm willing to do to be on the tour because it's my job, because it's my passion," Defay said. "I'm like trying to let the French surfers and the French girls know that it's possible. And maybe if we have more and more French (surfers)...then we have maybe more events there and maybe more support and maybe more sponsorship." (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

French surfer Johanne Defay stands for a portrait during World Surf League practice sessions at Surf Ranch on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. Defay wouldn't consider herself a poor surfer -- her father, after all, is a doctor, and the mega surfing brand, Roxy, started sponsoring her when she was 12, which included training opportunities in Australia and Hawaii. But the Reunion Island native recalls how devastating it was to her career when the sponsorship deal ended right before she reached the professional WSL championship tour in 2014. "This is the sacrifice that I'm willing to do to be on the tour because it's my job, because it's my passion," Defay said. "I'm like trying to let the French surfers and the French girls know that it's possible. And maybe if we have more and more French (surfers)...then we have maybe more events there and maybe more support and maybe more sponsorship." (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT
Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT
Surfer Italo Ferreira from Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Ferreira and fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench.(AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Surfer Italo Ferreira from Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Ferreira and fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench.(AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT
Surfer Johanne Defay of France works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. Defay wouldn't consider herself a poor surfer -- her father, after all, is a doctor, and the mega surfing brand, Roxy, started sponsoring her when she was 12, which included training opportunities in Australia and Hawaii. But the Reunion Island native recalls how devastating it was to her career when the sponsorship deal ended right before she reached the professional WSL championship tour in 2014. "This is the sacrifice that I'm willing to do to be on the tour because it's my job, because it's my passion," Defay said. "I'm like trying to let the French surfers and the French girls know that it's possible. And maybe if we have more and more French (surfers)...then we have maybe more events there and maybe more support and maybe more sponsorship." (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Surfer Johanne Defay of France works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. Defay wouldn't consider herself a poor surfer -- her father, after all, is a doctor, and the mega surfing brand, Roxy, started sponsoring her when she was 12, which included training opportunities in Australia and Hawaii. But the Reunion Island native recalls how devastating it was to her career when the sponsorship deal ended right before she reached the professional WSL championship tour in 2014. "This is the sacrifice that I'm willing to do to be on the tour because it's my job, because it's my passion," Defay said. "I'm like trying to let the French surfers and the French girls know that it's possible. And maybe if we have more and more French (surfers)...then we have maybe more events there and maybe more support and maybe more sponsorship." (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT
Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT
Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT
Surfer Italo Ferreira from Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Ferreira and fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Surfer Italo Ferreira from Brazil works out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Ferreira and fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT
Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil comes out of the water after working out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil comes out of the water after working out on a Surf Ranch wave during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT
Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil poses for a photo while working out at Surf Ranch during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Surfer Gabriel Medina of Brazil poses for a photo while working out at Surf Ranch during practice rounds for the upcoming Olympics Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Lemoore, Calif. This year, Medina and fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira are expected to rule the men's competition at surfing's long-awaited debut as an Olympic sport in the Tokyo 2020 Games. While the surfing community has long pledged that the ocean is for everyone, a look at the professional ranks show a sport that remains expensive and inaccessible. A series of recent industry efforts to help groom the next generation outside of the usual hot spots of Hawaii, California and Australia look to be a tacit acknowledgement of the existing disparities among its talent bench. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Jul. 14, 2021 02:08 PM EDT