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Jamaican Surf Team members
Icah Wilmot (opposite top), Shama
Beckford (opposite bottom) and
Ackeam Phillips (left) train in their
home country.
BILLY WILMOT BEN BOURGEOIS
The athleticism, regimented
training, diet and competitive
focus that prevail in surfing now
are a far cry from decades past,
even during Bourgeois’s tenure as a
competitor, and it’s something that
he is continually working on with
the team.
As Bourgeois helps shape the
future of Jamaican surfing through
weeks-long visits to the team,
extensive training, video analysis,
and equipment modifications,
he’s impressed with the country’s
commitment to the sport.
“Jamaica has a lot of medals from
the Olympics, but now surfing is
being recognized since it made it
into the Olympics, so it’s awesome
to see the Jamaican Olympic
Association actually giving a lot of
support to the surfers,” Bourgeois
says. “It’s still a tiny sport, but it’s
cool that the Jamaicans can travel
and represent their country as
surfers on a global scale. Surfing is
very limited in the Olympics for
this first year, so we’ll see how it all
pans out.”
With the qualifier in El Salvador,
the Jamaicans have only one
opportunity to make it into the
Olympics. Only a handful of slots
are available for hundreds of vying
surfers from around the world.
Bourgeois hopes his true
underdogs make it to the Japan
Olympics. But, perhaps more
importantly, he hopes that
Jamaican surfing will finally get
the worldwide recognition it
deserves.
He would consider that a win
for the nation he’s been blessed to
enjoy over the last 20 years.