It’s always been this way, Surfing. A sport that walks the line between sport and lifestyle, a fringe sport, or an outcast of sorts–a counter-culture. But nowadays, with multiple ways to make money through surfing, most notably through competition, surfing certainly is a sport. With big endorsement deals and solid prize money for Championship Tour athletes, surfing at the top level can be a 6-figure career. Not bad for riding waves and traveling the world, huh?
However, surfing competitively is no easy feat, and it’s no coincidence the WQS (now Challenger Series) is known as the Q grind. It’s tough, and making it to the Championship Tour takes years of training, traveling, losing clutch heats, and heartbreak, not to mention tens of thousands of dollars. In recent years there’s been another dangling carrot for competitive surfers; a carrot that promises an international stage, good(ish) waves, and the chance to represent their country doing what they love at one of the biggest sporting events in the world, the Olympic Games.
For the first time ever, surfing was added to the Olympics in the Tokyo 2022 games. While the waves were expectantly lackluster, Olympic surfing was an interesting watch for surf fans and the general public alike. The inaugural event took place in Chiba, just outside of Tokyo, at Shidashita Beach, whereas surfing’s next Olympic appearance will be at the 2024 France Olympics at Teahupoo, Tahiti (A french overseas territory). In this article, we dive into everything you need to know about surfing in the Olympics. We’ll cover how Olympic surfing works, how surfing became an Olympic sport, and how the qualification process works. We have a lot to get through, so let’s jump in.
Table of Contents
How Does Olympic Surfing Work?
Olympic surfing works much in the same way as your favorite WSL Championship Tour event. In Man-on-man heats, the surfer’s best two waves make up an overall score out of 20, and surfers have 40 minutes to find their best rides and progress. The event is knockout and will run from Round 3 through Round 2, Quarterfinals, Semi-Finals, and eventually, a man-on-man finale where the remaining two battle it out for a coveted surfing Olympic medal. Now we know the rough competition format, let’s take a closer look at how Olympic surfing works.
Contest Format
The Olympic surfing contest format includes 48 surfers, 24 men and 24 women. 2 x surfers from each (NOC-country) will represent their respective nation and compete for countries that have qualified (through a separate ISA event. Confused yet? Same. Through the ISA world games, surfers can qualify their country for the games, regardless of individual performance. (Nation’s must also qualify).
Scoring
So how is surfing scored in the games? Olympic surfing will be scored with the traditional surf contest criteria, with waves marked on a combination of:
- Speed, power, and flow
- Commitment and degree of difficulty
- Combination of major maneuvers
- Variety
All WSL contests are judged based on these criteria, and so too will the Olympics. However, emphasis is put on different aspects of the criteria depending on the location and conditions. Whatever the criteria emphasis, surfers will be scored on their best two waves within a 40-minute man-on-man heat, and the closer their total to twenty, the better their chances of advancing.
Conditions
In the Tokyo Olympics, the contest was held at Shidshita Beach. An average stretch of beach at the best of times, let alone in mid-summer when the games were held. Waves were 1-2ft, onshore mush burgers for most of the contest before concluding on finals day in 4ft stormy but still extremely mushy conditions. (It was basically like an oversized weak Huntington). Due to the conditions, waves were scored on moves like airs, speed, power, and flow.
However, things will ramp up in France 2024 with the event being held at the famous Teahupoo. Teahupoo is a perfect left barrel, hollow and heavy, and should conditions provide, waves will be scored on barrel riding as it’s traditionally a barrel-only type wave. (Fingers crossed for good waves). While epic surf isn’t guaranteed whenever a set date is in place, the planned event dates (27-30 July) are slap bang in the middle of Chope’s swell window.
Most Recent Olympic Surfing Results
The first-ever Olympic surfing event occurred in 2021 as part of the Tokyo 2020 (postponed initially due to Covid) at Shidashita Beach. Although the conditions and subsequent waves were 1-2ft slop at best, the event was intriguing to watch. I thought the broadcasting was excellent, with a commentary team of both surfers and non-surfers. This allowed non-surfing viewers to learn and understand what makes a well-surfed wave, and for surfers, it was great to listen to people who actually knew what they were talking about.
It was also epic to see top pros mix it up with lesser-known names representing their country! There were some interesting battles, with Gabriel Media being knocked out by Japanese surfer Kanoa Igarashi, who went on to lose in the final against another Brazilian surfing superstar, Italo Ferreira–who took out surfing’s first-ever gold medal match. These were surfing’s medal placings in Tokyo 2020:
1st – Italo Ferrieria (Brazil)
2nd – Kanoa Igarashi (Japan)
3rd – Owen Wright (Australia)
While the inaugural event was met with skepticism in the surfing world for me, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the surfers I know and love from the WSL compete on such a huge world stage. I regard any opportunity to see the best guys and gals surf (whatever the cosnitons) as a positive.
Qualifying for the Olympics (Process & Requirements)
Qualifying for the Olympics is a little complex, but I’ll try and explain it as simply as possible. In Short, the highest-ranked surfers from the WSL and ISA games events will qualify. To determine a fair way of deciding who competes, the WSL, ISA, and Olympic Committee comprised a hierarchical event structure.
The Championship Tour
The world’s best surfers competing on the WSL CT, will have first dips on qualification, with the highest-ranked male and female from each qualified nation grabbing the spots in the games.
ISA 2024 World Games
The top two surfers, male, and female (4 x total) will earn their spot in the France 2024 in the ISA World Games. This event is where each country (NOC) must secure their spot in the games. Regardless of individual rankings, countries (NOC/regions) must qualify during the ISA events.
ISA 2023 Games
4 x men and 4 x women will qualify through this year’s event.
Pan Am Games
The top male and female finishers in the 23 Pan Are games will get a spot in the Olympics.
Host Nation Spots
2 x places are on ice for surfers of the host nation. So, one male and one female from France will be selected. This doesn’t include the 4 x surfers already surfing for France.
Yep, I know it’s confusing, and trust me, I think I got more confused writing this piece, but essentially, the best surfers from nations that qualify will compete in France 2024.
The Future of Olympic Surfing
The future of Olympic surfing is bright. While the first-ever event happened in subpar conditions, it was still pretty fun to watch! The French Olympics in 2024 are being held at Chopes, which, if it coincides with a swell, will be a amazing spectacle and one unlike the surfing world (and the general public) has ever seen before. Just imagine it, surfers representing their nations in 8-10ft Chopes with millions of people watching? I mean, who doesn’t want to watch that?
Surfing has always had an issue with appealing to a mainstream audience, and if you’ve ever watched a contest go down in bad waves, you’ll know how boring it is to watch. If you don’t know the first thing about what makes a well-surfed 2ft shore break, it’s pretty tricky to watch! But throw in some death-defying pits at Chopes, and you have something that even the most unseaworthy spectator would stop in their tracks to gawk at. Pretty exciting, huh?
Many saw the Japan Olympics as a trial of surfing in the games and should the Teahupoo edition go as well and in better waves, I dare say we may see surfing become a regular feature on the Olympic event roster.
Final Words
With the first-ever appearance of surfing in the Olympic games behind us and the next looming ever closer, surfing is in an exciting place. Whether you agree with surfing becoming a competitive sport like football or tennis really isn’t important. What is important is getting to see our favorite professional surfers compete in sick waves on sport’s biggest stage. Whatever the waves are like and whoever qualifies, I’ll be watching!
Luke is an avid athlete and the driving force behind Surfhungry, a vibrant online platform dedicated to sharing the joy and passion of surfing and water sports with enthusiasts around the world. With a deep-rooted love for the ocean and a lifelong commitment to riding waves, Luke’s journey as a surfer has inspired him to create a community where like-minded individuals can come together to celebrate their shared passion.
