Teen Surf Prodigy Erin Brooks Denied Canadian Citizenship in Bid for Olympics
Erin Brooks, the 16-year-old surfing prodigy with hopes of representing Canada in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, has just suffered a blow from the federal government.
Officials have turned down her bid for Canadian citizenship.
This is, what appears to be, the end to a long-running saga in which Brooks had surfed under the Canadian flag at the International Surfing Games, despite not being an actual citizen, her team was stripped of their medals, and was banned from Team Canada.
Brooks was born in Texas, grew up in Hawaii, and has Canadian ties via her father who is a dual American-Canadian citizen. And, for her best chances to make the Olympics (only two slots go to each country, per gender), the Canada route seemed like the best option.
However, it’s not looking good for that to pan out.
In a letter explaining its decision not to grant citizenship, (via Yahoo) Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says Brooks is "not stateless, will not face special and unusual hardship if you are not granted Canadian citizenship and that you have not provided services of an exceptional value to Canada."
At the time, the ISA released a statement:
“…it has now come to the attention of the ISA EC [Executive Committee] 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.”
Erin’s father, Jeff, allegedly intends to appeal the decision.
Speaking with the CBC, he said:
“We are hopeful she will be reinstated soon and can get back on track to chasing her dream of representing Canada in the Olympics."
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