After 15-Year-Old Surfing Prodigy Erin Brooks Faces Ban Due to Citizenship Controversy, ISA Decides to Revoke Team Canada’s Medals

The Canadian Surfing Team made quite a splash at the 2023 World Surfing Games. All credit for the team’s success goes to a 15-year-old surfing prodigy Erin Brooks. Brooks earned a silver medal in the competition losing the gold to Brazil’s superstar surfer Tatianna Weston-Webb. However, her individual scores were nothing to scoff at. She took Team Canada to the eighth rank in the competition. But soon after the event, it was revealed that Erin Brooks did not have a Canadian citizen.

Originally from Texas, Erin Brooks was raised in Hawaii. Her father is a citizen of both the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, her grandparents are Canadian expats now residing in the U.S. The teenager wanted to pay tribute to her Canadian roots but instead found herself in the middle of a controversy. Team Canada removed her from their ranks and banned her from representing them.

Citizenship Controversy Rocks Erin Brooks’ Surfing Career

Erin Books had hoped to compete in the 2024 Olympics as a member of Team Canada. However, her dreams were shattered when she was unexpectedly sentenced to a ban. The controversy surrounding her citizenship has impacted her surfing career greatly. Following the discovery, the International Surfing Association’s Executive Committee launched an investigation into how Brooks was able to compete for Team Canada. They sought legal counsel and were able to reach a conclusion in the case.

In their follow-up report, the ISA concluded that “Ms. Brooks did not gain any undue advantage”. Therefore, it would not be right to disregard her individual scores in the event. However, the report had a second finding where it was concluded that Team Canada had profited from Erin’s participation. To make things right, “the relevant points originally earned by Ms. Brooks for the Canada team shall therefore be canceled”. Thus, Erin Brooks will be allowed to keep her medals, but Team Canada will not retain the points earned by her. This will impact Canada’s rank in the overall standings. The report has also jeopardized Brooks’ future participation in international competitions.

Erin Brooks’ Loss of Eligibility for International Competitions

Erin had earned the qualifying rights to the Pan Am Games and the ANOC World Beach Games as part of Team Canada. Now that position will be transferred to the next eligible athlete in line. This means that Erin will no longer have the opportunity to represent Canada in these prestigious international competitions. The Canadian Olympic Committee is not happy with these findings and has sought the help of the Immigrations Office to expedite Brooks’ citizenship application.

Read More: 15-Year-Old Surfing Prodigy Faces Team Canada Ban Ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics

The COC considers Erin their only hope to grab a medal in the 2024 Olympics. For Erin, it is also the only chance to realize her lifelong dream of competing at the Olympics. This is so because only two participants of the same gender can represent a particular nation at the Olympics. We sincerely hope that the citizenship issue is resolved quickly and Erin finds her spot back in the Canadian team.

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