Rising surfing star Erin Brooks unable to compete for Canada until citizenship approved
The American-born teenager is pursuing dual-citizenship.
Rising surfing star Erin Brooks won’t be allowed to compete under the Canadian flag until she has received her Canadian citizenship, the International Surfing Association (ISA) announced in a statement on Tuesday.
The Texas-born 15-year-old has been competing for Canada for several years, and Surf Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee requested that she be allowed to compete for Canada at ISA events in March 2022 during her ongoing citizenship application to the Canadian government.
The ISA approved that request, and she has continued to compete for Canada, but as the citizen application has still not been completed, they have now rescinded that approval to wear the maple leaf after a decision from their Executive Committee (ISA EC).
She has become a rising star in the sport, including winning a silver medal for Canada in the women’s shortboard event at the world championships earlier this month. Now, however, she cannot compete for Canada until her citizenship application is approved.
“Following further analysis of the case in recent days, the ISA EC concluded that this decision was taken incorrectly and not in accordance with the applicable ISA Rules,” they said in a statement. “According to the applicable ISA Rules and the documentation available at that time, the request by the Canadian Olympic Committee and Surfing Canada should have been rejected.
“Furthermore, it has now come to the attention of the ISA EC that in fact Ms. Brooks’ citizenship has still not been established. As a result, the EC has decided that Ms. Brooks’ eligibility to compete for Canada has been suspended with immediate effect.”
She has Canadian roots through her Quebec-born grandparents on her father’s side of the family, and after meeting Canadians at a training camp in Hawaii, she got on the radar of Surf Canada — eventually choosing to represent the country on the international stage.
Jamie Strashin of CBC reported on Tuesday that her citizen application has been in the hands of Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser for three years, with the COC, Surf Canada, and Brooks’ family lobbying for it to be approved.
The argument from Brooks’ camp is that she — as a contender to win Olympic medals, and with the potential to be one of the world’s best surfers, if she isn’t already — has exemplary or exceptional value to Canada. The decision is at the sole discretion of Fraser. They were blindsided by Tuesday’s announcement, and Brooks and her family are in South Africa, where she was set to compete this week.
In addition to the ISA’s ruling, Brooks is also ineligible to compete for Canada at the Pan American Games this fall, or the Olympics next summer, until that application is granted. Strashin also reported that similar applications being granted are "extremely rare".
“In the meantime, should the Canadian sport authorities be able to provide proof of citizenship with a verified document from the Canadian government, the ISA EC will re-evaluate her eligibility for Canada, in accordance with the applicable ISA rules,” the surfing governing body added in their statement.
“The ISA takes responsibility for the administrative error made so we would like to express our deep regret and offer our apologies to Ms. Brooks and her family for the impact this case may have on her personally – with the hope that this case of her citizenship will be resolved promptly. The ISA EC has been seeking legal counsel on this issue and will continue to do so in terms of next steps and consequences of this case.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee will continue to push for her application to be successful in the coming months as the leadup to the Pan Am Games and Olympics continues.
Thank you for reading this post on True North. To be the first person to read future posts, and listen to new podcast episodes, subscribe for free using the button below, or share the article with someone you know.