Surfing at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Surfs Up! (Thousands of miles away from Paris)

From the beaches of Tahiti, Olympic Surfing is back for a second time! This time 48 athletes will compete in the men’s and women’s events.

The Basics

Surfers perform maneuvers and tricks on a wave that are scored by five judges based on the variety, type and difficulty of the tricks. Surfers are also judged on their speed, power and flow (the way in which a surfer seamlessly connects their moves from one to the next). Shortboards are the surfboards of choice for the Olympics. Smaller than longboards, shortboards are faster and more maneuverable, which makes them the ideal board for performing spectacular tricks.

The surfing competition will stage in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, the French overseas territory of Polynesia in the southern Pacific. The decision was made to hold the surfing competition in the French territory instead of continental Europe because of the famous massive waves on the island suitable for the surfing competitions.

The Format

24 surfers are entering each competition. In Round 1, they are divided into 3-person heats. The top surfer goes straight to Round 3 (the round of 16). The other two surfers move on to Round 2. Round 2 consists of 8 head-to-head matchups where the winner advances and the loser is eliminated. This proceeds gets us to 16 athlete single elimination bracket. From there, surfers go head-to-head all the way until the final.

What Countries are Historically Good?

The first time this was held, Brazil and United States won the gold medals. Here are the countries with the most athletes qualified to compete:

Brazil (3 men + 3 women)

United States (2 men + 3 women)

Australia & France (2 men + 2 women)

Japan (3 men + 1 woman)

Schedule

This schedule is heavily dependent on weather

July 27th: Round 1

July 28th: Round 2

July 29th: Round 3 aka Round of 16

July 30th: Quarterfinals + semifinals + Final & 3rd Place Matches