Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Olympic surfing at Tokyo 2020: Top five things to know

02/03/2021

Olympic surfing at Tokyo 2020: Top five things to know posted: 02/03/2021

Who are the top Olympic surfers at Tokyo 2020 in 2021? When and where will Olympic surfing take place? What is the history behind one of the Olympic programme's newest sports? Find out here.

On 3 August 2016, the International Olympic Committee voted to include surfing as one of the five new sports that would be included at Tokyo 2020. This will be surfing's first appearance at the Olympics. However, the art of riding waves on a surfboard has existed for hundreds of years. The Polynesians who lived on the Pacific island chains of Hawaii and Tahiti have had surfing at the core of their cultural identity for as long as it has been recorded, and recently archaeological records show that ancient pre-Incan cultures along the Peruvian coastline have used wave-riding crafts as early as 200 CE.

In the modern era surfing was popularised by famed waterman, and Olympian, Duke Kahanamoku, from Hawaii. Kahanamoku won three gold medals in swimming at the Stockholm 1912 and Antwerp 1920 Games for the USA. Not only is he considered the father of modern surfing', but he planted the seed for surfing's future Olympic inclusion by suggesting it while accepting his gold medal at Stockholm 1912.

One Minute, One Sport | Surfing

Surfing is one of 33 sports that will take place at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. It is due to make its Olympic debut in July 2021 in Japan. But who are the ones to watch? When will competition take place, and where will it be held? Here is our guide to the top things to know about Olympic surfing. One Minute, One Sport will show you the rules and highlights of Surfing

Top Olympic surfers at Tokyo 2020

Surfing's debut at the Olympics includes a line-up of world champions, World Surf League (WSL) tour veterans, and rookie pros ready to make their mark on the sport.

As is the case in modern surfing history, the top surfers to watch will be coming mainly from Australia and the USA, but watch out too for Brazil.

Born in the same year and just miles away from each other in Honolulu, Hawaii, John John Florence and Carissa Moore represent the current pinnacle of American professional surfing.

Florence boasts two world championships and the coveted Pipeline Masters award, while Moore heads to Tokyo a reigning world champion, with three more titles under her belt to back it up.

The two pros smooth and fearless style is emblematic of their upbringing at the iconic Banzai Pipeline, and their 12 years of world championship tour experience each will make them a force to be reckoned with.

Olympic surfing competition format at Tokyo 2020

The event will involve 20 male and 20 female athletes competing in three rounds, and three finals comprised of 30-minute heats.

Round one features four athletes per heat while round two will have five. From round three onwards the competition turns to a one-on-one format.

During the heats each surfer will have 30 minutes to catch as many waves as they can and receive a score from 0-10 for every wave surfed. However, only the top two waves from each surfer get calculated into their final score.

Due to the nature of the sport, surfers are judged on a slightly different criteria than other athletes. Waves are scored by a panel of experienced judges using a five-point system.

Commitment and difficulty: This factor is the most important and judges the types, degree of difficulty, and risk of the moves performed. Additionally, because all waves are different, athletes are also judged on how high-risk the wave they have chosen is, and how committed that surfer is to maximise the potential scoring opportunities on each wave.

Innovation and progression: In addition to the standard manoeuvres in a surfer's repertoire, the judges will also award points for those who push the boundaries of modern surfing with progressive moves such as aerial or tail slide variations.

Variety: While quality is the most important, judges are also looking out for athletes who incorporate many different types of manoeuvres into their surfing.

Combination: This point considers how seamlessly a surfer can connect high scoring manoeuvres such as barrels, turns, and aerials on the same wave.

Speed, power, and flow: This age-old surfing mantra refers to an athlete's style on a wave, but also the subtle technical elements that separate good surfers from great surfers. The ability to react to shifting conditions on a wave and maintain proper speed to perform high scoring manoeuvres, the amount of power that is going into each move so that it can be displayed at it's highest potential, and a flow in the way that a surfer connects each move from start to finish.
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/sports/olympic-surfing-tokyo-2020-...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

08/05/2026

NBC Sports, Peacock Scale Vertical-Video Production Across Sports - and Beyond - Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

NBC's 9:16 live-production workflows power Courtside Live, Rinkside Live, Vi...

08/05/2026

ESPN Pieces Together Production Strategy After WNBA's Unsettled Offseason

Native 1080p HDR productions will rely on a mix of remote workflows from Bristol and Los Angeles Despite another prosperous WNBA season in 2025, there was no g...

08/05/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 14: Buffalo Sabres' Autumn Bolton - Bringing Back Better Days at KeyBank Center

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

08/05/2026

ESPN and Players Era Announce Multi-Year Broadcast Agreement for Mens College Basketball Championships

Players Era, an EverWonder Studio company, and ESPN have announced a multi-year ...

08/05/2026

BFBS Selects Synamedia to Build Next-Generation Digital Platform for UK Armed Forces

BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) has announced the selection of Syname...

08/05/2026

UFC and Joe Hand Promotions Launch Championship Rounds Commercial Subscription Package

UFC and Joe Hand Promotions, UFC's exclusive commercial distributor in the U...

08/05/2026

Ease Live Granted US Patent for Interactive Streaming Overlay Technology

Ease Live, an Evertz company, has announced it has been granted US Patent No. 12,556,777 for its graphical overlay technology for interactive live streaming. Th...

08/05/2026

Ateme Deploys OTT Platform for VTVcabs VTVprime Service in Vietnam

Ateme has announced that VTVcab has deployed Ateme's OTT platform to power its VTVprime streaming service in Vietnam. The deployment covers live and on-dema...

08/05/2026

Amagi Launches In-Content Ads Marketplace for CTV Advertising

Amagi has announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering via the Amagi ADS PLUS marketplace, providing programmatic access to ad formats inserted dir...

08/05/2026

USA Sports Dives Headfirst Into Its Inaugural WNBA Season With Onsite Postseason-Style' Productions

Young broadcaster will deploy 11-camera complement, At the Line' scorebug f...

08/05/2026

Ratings Roundup: NBCs Derby Coverage Hits All-Time High; 1st Round of NBA, NHA Playoffs Up Big

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

08/05/2026

A Mother's Day Toast to Joan Rubinsky in Theater Camp

Molly Gordon and Ben Platt appear in Theater Camp. (Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures) By Lucy Spicer Her character is the beloved founder of the AdirondACTS...

08/05/2026

Cyma Forma & Bambounou unveil RND synth

One-button synth generates random four-track ideas Cyma Forma and French artist Bambounou have announced RND synth, a compact hardware synthesizer built aro...

08/05/2026

Tasty Chips GR-2 granular synthesizer

Portable four-layer granular and sampling instrument Tasty Chips have announced the GR-2, a new granular synthesizer and sampling instrument that combines e...

08/05/2026

SUPERBOOTH 2026: Polyend Drums

Video Show Report Video of SUPERBOOTH 26: Polyend Drums Polyends big announcement for Superbooth 2026 is the Drums, a new drum machine that features both ...

08/05/2026

Native Instruments to be acquired by inMusic

Deal agreed as NI enters new chapter Native Instruments CEO Nick Williams has announced that a definitive agreement has been signed for the company to be ac...

08/05/2026

SUPERBOOTH 2026: Erica Synths Bullfrog Drums

Video Show Report Video of SUPERBOOTH 26: Erica Bullfrog Drums The Bullfrog Drums is the latest collaboration between Erica Synths and Richie Hawtin, and ...

08/05/2026

Play Snooker: Cueing Up the Future So Every Frame Counts

In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on the recent launch of Play Snooker, the new digital home of snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker A...

08/05/2026

G&D KVM-over-IP Plugin for Netgear AV Simplifies Deployments

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/05/2026

Riedel to Support Glasgow 2026 as Official Connectivity I...

Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...

08/05/2026

Miri V410 Encoder-Decoder Wins 2026 NAB Show Product of t...

For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...

08/05/2026

Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards

Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions. May 7, 2026 By Tori Donahue Boston Co...

08/05/2026

Report: Rise of Video Podcasts Prompts Hybrid Approach

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/05/2026

U.K. Military Broadcaster Taps Synamedia for Digital Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/05/2026

Gayle Benson To Receive NAB Leadership Foundation Leadership Award

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/05/2026

Dems Blast FCC Disney Probe As 'Egregious Abuse of Power'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/05/2026

Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical investment, it's a human one

Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...

08/05/2026

COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content

COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content Brie Clayton May 7, 2026 0 Comments UGC, On-Camera Video Content April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......

08/05/2026

For Dogs' Sake! Pete Wicks returns with more heart-warming rescue journeys

Pete reunites with Dogs Trust for a fourth series and a two-part overseas special London, Friday 8th May 2026: The award winning factual entertainment series P...

08/05/2026

Riedel to Support Glasgow 2026 as Official Connectivity Integration Provider

Wuppertal May 8, 2026 Riedel to Support Glasgow 2026 as Official Connectivity Integration Provider Riedel Communications today announced its return as a spons...

08/05/2026

Netflix Announces Standalone Sequel to Global Hit 'La Palma'

Back to All News Netflix Announces Standalone Sequel to Global Hit La Palma Entertainment 08 May 2026 GlobalDenmarkFinlandNorwaySweden Link copied to clipb...

08/05/2026

Say hello to ICG Belfast

ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth. Led by Digital Marketing M...

08/05/2026

Investing in smart metering to close London's water gap

Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...

07/05/2026

Sudan Digital Investigation Hub launches to support journalists navigating disinformation in conflict

Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...

07/05/2026

Victory+ CEO Neil Gruninger on the Impact of the Dallas Cowboys Deal, Creator-Led Content, and Free In-Market Access for Fans

Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...

07/05/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Ella Peterson, University of Illinois

From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production In the ...

07/05/2026

NAB 2026: Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards

Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...

07/05/2026

Scripps National Spelling Bee Revamps Broadcast; Mina Kimes to Host, Embassy Rows Michael Davies to Produce

ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...

07/05/2026

MUBI Selects Bitmovin as Cloud VOD Encoding Partner

Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...

07/05/2026

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and U.S. Soccer Extend Spanish-Language Media Rights Through 2030

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...

07/05/2026

Angel City Football Club and Victory+ Announce Regional Broadcast Partnership

Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...

07/05/2026

Spiideo Launches AI Highlights for Automated Highlight and Clip Creation

Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...

07/05/2026

Leostream Announces Unified HPC Remote Access Ecosystem for Post-Production and Enterprise Workflows

Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...

07/05/2026

Victory+ Adds Atlanta Dream Local Broadcasts to Free Streaming Platform

The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...

07/05/2026

Riedel Communications Appoints Marc Engroff as CFO; Frank Eischet Moves to Group COO Role

Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...