It has taken a long time, but in a matter of days, surfing will make its long-awaited Olympic debut.
The opening ceremony is set to begin on Friday, July 23, and Team USA has already landed in Japan.
After a year’s delay due to COVID-19, we will finally get to see 40 of the world’s best surfers compete for gold at the Tokyo Games.
Which has been the subject of much speculation and comment for years.
How to Watch Surfing Olympics 2021
There will be five new Olympic sports at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and surfing is already making a splash.
On Monday (26 July), the elimination round will begin, which means the competition will really heat up.
This follows the elimination of four surfers from both the men’s and women’s events at the end of round two on Sunday.
Round three sees the surfers return to Tsurigasaki Beach, and, if the waves cooperate, there are a number of exciting heats to look forward to.
In the second round of the men’s competition, all of the competitors are from the United States.
At 12:24 p.m. JST, two-time world champion John John Florence will compete against fellow countryman Kolohe Andino.
In a matchup that is sure to be exciting (23:24 Sunday night on the U.S. east coast, 17:24 Sunday in Honolulu).
Sally Fizgibbons, an Australian star, is the current favourite to win a medal in the women’s competition and will be looking to maintain her stellar performance at the Olympic Games.
What Will the Events Be Like?
There are two main types of surfing, the shortboard and the longboard. Shortboards will be used by all competitors at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
You can call a surfboard that is less than seven feet in length a shortboard. They tend to be thin and have a sharp snout.
In comparison to longboards, they are better suited to powerful waves due to their speed and precision construction.
How Will the Athletes be Judged?
Athletes will be scored based on the complexity and originality of their moves.
Aerials are an advanced surfing manoeuvre that involve finding a ramp in a wave, launching off the lip, gaining airtime, and landing back on the wave face.
The 360 is a surfing manoeuvre in which a surfer spins in a full circle while in the air and then gracefully lands.
Quickness, strength, and fluidity will also be taken into account by the judges.
Like in other Olympic competitions, surfers will be given a score between 1 and 10 with two decimals, such as 7.91.
Conclusion
During the official Olympics waiting period, most armchair experts have predicted small surf in Japan for the past few years.
Typhoons, the eastern hemisphere’s name for hurricane, are responsible for the majority of Japan’s good surf, but they can be elusive. Thanks for reading our article How to Watch Surfing Olympics 2021.
