What is Competitive Surfing?
Competitive surfing is the way of surfing in which you compete against other surfers. When two or more surfers compete against each other by trying to be better than the other by a certain measure (points, time, etc.), it is called competitive surfing. Mostly competitive surfers compete against each other in surf competitions.
The History of Competitive Surfing
Similar to the first surfing, the roots of the first surf competition can be traced back to ancient Hawaii. As early as the 19th century, there were competitions in which participants competed against each other in a kind of race. They paddled their surfboards out to sea and then surfed a wave back to the beach.
Compared to today’s surf competitions, the format was very simple. However, the surfboards at that time were made of wood and were therefore large and heavy. Competing in a surfing contest back then sometimes meant risking one’s life.
In 1953, the Waikiki Surf Club in Makaha, Hawaii, hosted the first international surfing championships for men and women. This competition marked the official birth of the sport of surfing, with judges awarding points for length of ride, number of waves surfed, skill, sportsmanship and grace on the board.
At the fourth Duke Kahanamoku competition in 1968, there were two important developments in professional surfing. For example, Kimo McVay, entrepreneur and manager of legendary Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku, made possible a first prize purse of $1,000.
At the same time, Australia established professional competitions. In 1973, Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer, the owners and managers of Rip Curl, transformed the long-running amateur competition in Bells Beach, Australia into a professional event.
In 1976, surfers founded the International Professional Surfers (IPS) association, which organized the Smirnoff World Pro Surfing Championships, the Duke Kahanamoku competitions, and the Pipeline Masters in Hawaii. While the cash prizes opened up new economic opportunities for surfers, the competitions mostly suffered from poor administration and management.
The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) took over the administration of professional surfing in 1983 and in the mid-1990s shifted its focus to the Dream Tour concept that encouraged organizers to move their venues from major tourist cities to remote areas with quality surfing conditions.
The first ASP world champions were Tom Carroll (men) and Kim Mearig (women) in 1983/84, and notable champions include Tom Curren, Kelly Slater, Andy Irons, Mick Fanning and Gabriel Medina, as well as Wendy Botha , Frieda Zamba, Lisa Andersen, Layne Beachley, Stephanie Gilmore and Carissa Moore.
At the start of the 2015 season, the ASP was sold to media company ZoSea and renamed the World Surf League (WSL). The first WSL world champions were Adriano de Souza and Carissa Moore in 2015.
For the first time in history, 20 female and 20 male surfers competed for medals as part of the Olympic Games 2020 in Chiba, Japan. The first Olympic champions in surfing were the Brazilian Italo Ferreira and the US American Carissa Moore.
Is Surfing in general competitive?
No, not at all.
The earliest records of surfing in Hawaii date back to the mid-17th century. Here, surfing was a widespread social, political and spiritual activity. Through rituals and chants, surfing was part of their religion and firmly anchored in the daily lives of Hawaii’s inhabitants.
However, competition has had a difficult time in surf culture, as it was seen as the antithesis of surfers’ independent pursuits. In the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 70s, surf competitions collapsed. Between 1973 and 1975, no sponsors could be found, so no championships were held as a result.
Surfers felt that competitions symbolized excessive consumption and a material way of life. They preferred the creativity and self-expression of soul surfing – surfing waves to get in touch with nature.
While in the second half of the 20th century the competitive surfing developed, also the movement of soul surfing grew. Probably the most famous soul surfer is Gerry Lopez. His barrel riding perfomances at Pipeline, Hawaii influenced and still influence the whole surf scene.
Today, free surfers sometimes earn more than professional competitive surfers. Free surfers are sponsored by brands to travel to exotic locations to surf in sponsored videos and appear in corporate commercials. This is how you can make a living these days as a surfer without competitive surfing.
I personally think that the meritocracy, which has developed more and more in the last decades, is also carried over to surfing. It is becoming increasingly important who has surfed the largest barrel or landed the highest air. Even in the water, every single wave is fought for.
I like surf competitions a lot and I also think that the sport is often developed in an innovative and progressive way through it. But you should always keep in mind that it’s only one part of the big picture. Surfing should first and foremost be a recreational activity that you enjoy and feel connected to nature.
Different kinds of Surf Competitions
Shortboard Surf Competitions
Shortboard competitions are the most popular and widespread competitions. In addition to competing in the Olympics and the ISA’s World Surfing Games, the WSL has divided its shortboard competitions into a three tier system: Qualifying Series (QS), Challenger Series (CS) and World Championship Tour (WCT).
The Qualifying Series (QS)
The Qualifying Series is a series of seven independent regional competitions that determine which up-and-coming surfers qualify for the global Challenger Series. The most promising athletes from all seven regions – Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, Hawaii/Tahiti, North America and South America – compete in local competitions to qualify for the CS and move one step closer to qualifying for the World Championship Tour.
The Challenger Series (CS)
The Challenger Series is a global competition with multiple events where athletes can qualify for the WCT. In the international events, 96 men and 64 women will compete for one of the 12 coveted spots in the men’s and 6 in the women’s events at the sport’s highest level.
The World Championship Tour (WCT / CT)
A total of 17 women and 34 men will compete against each other on the World Championship Tour. Up to 2020, each athlete was awarded a number of points per event ranging from 265 points (shared 33rd place) to 10,000 points (winner), according to their ranking. The points from the various events in a year were then added together and the athlete with the most points at the end of the year was crowned World Champion.
With the start of the 2021 season, the WSL introduced a new format to make the World Championships more attractive and exciting for spectators. Thus, using the existing points system and the normal event calendar, the best 5 athletes in both the women’s and men’s events qualify for the WSL Finals at the end of the season.
In this competition, the fifth-placed athlete first competes against the fourth-placed athlete, and the winner of this duel then competes in the next heat against the third-placed athlete in the overall annual standings. Following this system, the world champion in (shortboard) surfing is crowned.
Longboard Surf Competitions
Longboard competitions are often associated with the historical roots of surfing. Until the mid-20th century, all surfboards were longboards, and so all the early pioneers of modern surfing were longboard surfers.
The requirements for a longboard competition are that the surfboard measures at least 9 feet in length. Usually the boards have a traditional Malibu shape and have one large fin. However, the use of multiple fins is also allowed.
Surfers must perform controlled maneuvers in the critical part of the wave, utilizing the entire board and wave in the spirit of traditional longboard surfing. The surfer who accomplishes this with the highest degree of difficulty, style, flow and grace will receive the highest score for a ride.
Longboard competitions usually focus not only on crowning a winner of the competition, but also on celebrating the special style and grace of longboarding.
Big Wave Surf Competitions
Big wave surfing is considered the most prestigious form of surfing, with waves that are typically at least 20 feet (about 6.2 m) high and can reach up to 60 feet (about 20 m). Big wave competitions have evolved since the 1990s, with financial support from major surf industry brands such as Quicksilver, Billabong, and Red Bull, into sponsored, internationally contested, multimedia events that enjoy mainstream media attention.
The invention and introduction of jet skis in particular has redefined big wave surfing. Previously, surfers were unable to ride waves bigger than 30 feet (about 9 m) because the speed of the wave was too high for them to catch the waves by themselves by paddling. Now they can be pulled into the breaking waves by jet skis to match the speed of the wave.
That’s why big wave surfing is now divided into two categories, each of which has its own competitions: Big wave surfing, in which surfers paddle to catch the wave, and tow-in surfing, in which they are pulled by a jet ski with their feet attached to their board with straps.
Junior Surf Competitions
Junior competitions are held in a similar format to the men’s and women’s shortboard and longboard world championships. Athletes compete against each other in various competitions throughout the year in order to qualify to compete for the world championship title at the end of the year.
In most cases, an athlete can only participate in competitions on the continent or region of his or her country of origin. This is to prevent athletes from traveling too much at a young age and not being able to concentrate on school, for example. Juniors are all athletes who have not yet reached the age of 18.
The Rules of Competitive Surfing
Format and Heats
Surf competitions are based on elimination heats. The competition format consists of 20- to 40-minute heats, called heats, in which two to four surfers are scored by a group of judges. The judges’ job in a surf competition is to decide which surfer will perform the maneuvers in a heat that most closely match the judging criteria.
During a heat, each wave ridden by a surfer is scored and given a score between 0.1 and 10. At the end of the heat, the two best waves ridden by an athlete are combined to give an overall heat score. Heat points can range from 0.2 to a perfect score of 20, made up of two waves with a perfect 10. The winners of each heat advance to the next rounds until they reach the final, where the winner of a competition is crowned.
Priority
The priority in surf competitions is different from the right of way in free surfing, which you can read about in our Surf Etiquette. The WSL describes the priority rule as follows:
“The surfer with priority has the unconditional right of way to catch any wave they choose. Other surfers in the heat can paddle for, and catch, the same wave, but only if they do not hinder the scoring potential of a surfer with priority. A surfer loses priority once they catch a wave and/or a surfer paddles for but misses a wave. If two or more surfers catch a wave, the first surfer to make it to the take-off zone will get priority.”
Judges
A panel of five judges scores each wave on a scale of one to ten. For each scoring ride, the highest and lowest scores (of the five judges) are subtracted and the surfer receives the average of the remaining three scores.
In international competitions, it is usually taken care that the judges come from different countries of origin to ensure fairness. Common countries of origin of international judges are USA, Australia and Brazil. At WSL events there is always at least one judge from the country where the competition takes place.
How do you score: Judgement Criteria
The scoring of surfed waves in surf competitions is very subjective and sometimes difficult to understand. Even different jugdes of the WSL differ in the score of a wave up to two points. However, in order to offer athletes and spectators a little transparency regarding the judging, there are the so-called judging criteria:
- Commitment and degree of difficulty
- Innovative and progressive maneuvers
- Combination of major maneuvers
- Variety of maneuvers
- Speed, power and flow
Depending on the spot and current conditions, the criteria are constantly adjusted and weighted differently. Thus, for a wave like Teahupoo, the commitment as well as the selection of the wave is the most important evaluation criterion. For a beach break, the focus is more on progessive and innovative maneuvers.
People also ask
What is the prize money?
The prize money varies greatly depending on the size and country of the competition. For example, in small, local surf competitions you can win a few hundred euros. The winners of a WSL CT event get between $12,125 (last place) and $100,000 (winner).
On September 5, 2018, the WSL announced equal prize money for all WSL events for men and women. The announcement sparked a discussion about equal pay for professional athletes, and the world praised the WSL for leading the way.
Can I join a surf competition?
Usually there are local open surf competitions in which you can participate without any previous experience. However, a participation fee is usually due here as well. At these competitions you can earn national points to be allowed to compete at bigger competitions.
To compete in a WSL CT event, you must make your way through local competitions as well as the Qualifying Series (QS) and Challanger Series (CS). This takes a lot of time, money, effort and luck.
What is the most prestigious surfing competition?
This question is not easy to answer and is highly subjective. I would say, due to the nature of the wave, its dangerousness and history, the Pipeline Masters on the North Shore, Hawaii is the most prestigious surf competition.
Another prestigious surfing competition is definitely the Rip Curl Pro in Bells Beach, Australia. The history of Bells Beach and the origin of the surf brand Rip Curl make the competition very influential, especially in Australia.
But many other competitions and waves come to mind: Teahupoo in Tahiti, Trestles and Mavericks in USA, Nazaré in Portugal and so on….
