Will Australia’s Surf Team Wear Speedos At The Olympics?

In 1992, a “Dream Team” of American basketball players was assembled to compete in the Barcelona Olympics. 

Prior to this, professional players were not Olympic eligible, meaning that team rosters were stacked with amateurs rather than NBA stars. When the floodgates opened in 1992, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan were on the same fucking team. 

They won their games by an average of 44 points on their way to gold. Borderline assault. 

At the closing ceremony, Michael Jordan stood draped in the American flag—but this move can’t be chalked up to national pride alone. At the time, Reebok was the sponsor of the American team but Jordan had a mega contract with Nike. The man was a superstar, and he knew his worth. He wasn’t going to let a rival company benefit off his greatness without seeing a pulse in his bank account. And so, the stars and stripes conveniently concealed the Reebok logo on his uniform.  

There is no surfer with the international appeal of Jordan in 1992. But our Olympians do have to keep his brand-aware actions in mind. 

This is due to the Olympic Charter’s Rule 50. In addition to prohibiting commercial installations and advertising signs, it states that: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

The prohibition of advertising has different implications for different sports. The header image shows how it affects board logos [including sponsorship stickers] and surf gear for men. Below is how it’ll look for women.

So, goodbye stickers and hello flags. Maybe Kolohe Andino was a trendsetter after all.

Anyway, the manufacturer logo is an important point to focus on.

Most countries have an apparel sponsor a la Reebok in 1992. But, for niche products, another brand can swoop in and sponsor a national Olympic team for a specific sport. For example, Nike was the USA’s apparel sponsor for the Winter Games in 2018, but Burton sponsored the snowboarding team and the created outerwear for them.  

With surfing’s first set of Olympians confirmed only a few days ago, a lot of these deals could be getting fleshed out now. Nike still sponsors the US team, which means that the surfers were originally supposed to wear Hurley. Early versions of the trunks were even spotted in the flesh. But now, Hurley is no longer owned by Nike so we’ll see what unfolds there. 

What we do know is that Speedo is the apparel sponsor of the Australia team, and they make boardshorts. The water polo team looks great in them, no? It’s still unclear if that sponsorship will extend to the surf squad, but don’t be surprised if you see Owen and Julian in those same green and yellow trunks in Japan.

If our gear critic is right, surfers from all nations should be hoping for the overlords at Banks Journal to change their entire marketing strategy and jump in on the Olympic pandemonium.

Surfboards, fins, leashes, and traction fall into the category of sport equipment and so athletes can use whatever brand they normally use: However, nobody can make any Olympic-specific plays. According to the rules, “The identification of the Manufacturer may be carried as generally used on products sold through the retail trade during the period of 6 months prior to the Games.”  

Wetsuits also have their own rules but the water temperature at the venue, Tsurigasaki Beach, should be around 75F/24 C during the waiting period. This could come into play for surfing at the Olympics in the years to come, though. 

Eyewear and headwear, too, are covered by Rule 50—meaning that energy drink hat deals should be neglected on the podium. Julian Wilson and Jordy Smith might once again reveal their wonderful foreheads for the world to see. 

With the games swiftly approaching, let’s hope for some confusing last minute sponsorship deals to keep things bizarre. The 40 surfers confirmed for Tokyo might want to get their flags ready just in case.