California, USA – June 27 2023
The ISA Executive Committee (EC) has today examined the case of the nationality of the athlete, Erin Brooks.
In March 2022, Surfing Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee requested Ms Brooks be allowed to compete for Canada, as her citizenship application had been filed, but not completed.
A decision was made by the ISA administration to grant this request, based on assurances received from the Canadian Olympic Committee and Surfing Canada that the citizenship was in process. The petition was approved without proper consultation of the ISA Executive Committee (EC) and the ISA President.
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. 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.
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 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.
