Surfing

Since its debut in the 2021 Olympic Games at Tokyo, the sport of surfing has caused quite a splash. This year, athletes from all over the world came to compete in surfing, from South Africa to Brazil, Australia to Japan. Kauli Vaast from French Polynesia took the gold for the mens, and Caroline Marks from the U.S. clinched the gold for the women, the second straight Olympic gold medal for the U.S. women’s team. This year, the competition took place in Tahiti, 10,000 miles away from the rest of the Games in Paris. 

“The official reason that the Olympic Host City of Paris chose Tahiti as the location for Olympic Surfing is that July is off-season for France and their best surfing destinations, such as Hossegor, would not have quality waves deserving of Olympic competition,” Chris Heffner, Director of Athlete Relations for the World Surf League, the governing body of professional surfing and qualifying body for the Olympics, said.

Even though Olympic surfers make riding the giant waves look simple, it takes a lifetime of training to perform at their level. Athletes need to surf every day from an incredibly early age, show immense dedication through surfing during a myriad  of conditions and dedicate hours stretching in the gym, as well as doing upper and lower body exercises daily.

Once they arrived in Tahiti for the Olympics, athletes only had two hours to train and prepare for any conditions they may face while in the ocean, making the competition highly unpredictable. 

Still, athletes managed to put on impressive performances that drew crowds in, the beaches filled with spectators from all over the world.

“I thought it was incredible … I think it brought surfing to a whole new level,” Austin Wade, surf P.E. teacher, AP World History Teacher and Socio-Political History of Rock N’ Roll teacher said.

Surf P.E. student Ollie Chontos (10) agrees 

“Tahiti was a great spot to see them compete and I loved watching some of the barrels,” Chontos said.

The competition is man-on-man and set up like a traditional tournament bracket, similar to tennis or other individual sports.  The final scoring for these incredible performances is based on the sum of the athletes’ top two waves, scored from one to ten by an international panel of five judges. 

Surfing isn’t just meaningful to Olympic athletes; it resonates with students at the school.

“I love the culture of when you are surfing. You have your friends cheer you on. It makes me feel enriched after being out there in the water,” Surf P.E student Mackenaa Morales (10) said.

Surfing in the Olympics exposed the sport to younger and older generations of viewers alike. This awareness creates recognition for the professional athletes competing. It makes the Olympics an accomplishable goal for young surfers around the world. It also encourages bigger and diverse brands to involve themselves in the culture of the sport. 

Surfing will no doubt be an event to look forward to in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The surfing location for the 2028 Games has not yet been released.

“There have been a couple of options that have been floating around and rumored, including Lower Trestles and Huntington Beach. If you make me pick right now where I think it will be, I would say Huntington Beach,” Heffner said. 

Whether competing on waves thousands of miles away, or feeling the spray of the local ocean  on their faces, athletes are ready to surf their hearts out in the 2028 Olympics, armed with hope and fueled with dreams of gold dangling around their necks.

by Lana Weber