Tahiti welcomed the 2024 Olympic surfing event with sunshine, songs and Polynesian culture honoring the sport’s ancient roots, nearly 9,800 miles away from the Games’ opening ceremony in Paris.
Surfing is back at the Olympics in Paris after making its debut as an Olympic sport in Tokyo three years ago, in a Games with no spectators because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The fans are back in 2024 and so are a number of Team USA surfers looking for gold, including reigning Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore and reigning world champion Caroline Marks.
This year's surfing event will take place in Tahiti in French Polynesia, around 10,000 miles away from Paris.
When is Olympic surfing on TV? See the surfing Olympics schedule
The first round of Olympics surfing will take place on Saturday, July 27 with a 3 p.m. ET start time for the men and 5:48 p.m. ET for the women.
The second round of Olympic surfing will take place Sunday, July 28 with a 1 p.m. ET start time for the women and a 5:48 p.m. ET start time for the men.
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The third round of Olympics surfing will take place Monday, July 29 with a 1 p.m. ET start time for the men and a 5:48 p.m. ET start time for the women.
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
Watch all the action from the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games live on Peacock
On Tuesday, July 30, the men and women's quarterfinals, semifinals, bronze medal and gold medal matches are scheduled.
In case they are needed, there are reserve days built in after July 30th. Because of the uncertainty of waves and weather, this schedule could change at anytime.
The men's bronze medal match is scheduled for 8:12 p.m. ET on July 30. The women's bronze medal match is scheduled for 8:53 p.m. ET. The men's gold medal match is scheduled for 9:34 p.m. ET and the women's gold medal match is scheduled for 10:15 p.m. ET on July 30.
All surfing events will be live on Peacock. Because of the time different in Tahiti, the gold medal matches will be shown in Primetime on NBC on Tuesday, July 30. See the full schedule here.
What time is it in Tahiti?
Tahiti time is six hours behind Eastern Time during daylight saving time over the summer. Tahiti time is three hours behind Pacific Time.
How is Olympic surfing scored?
According to the Olympics, surfing is scored by a five judge panel, who score the waves of surfers on a scale of one to 10. There are no limits to the number of waves a surfer can catch but the judges highest and lowest scores for each wave are discarded. Then, the surfer's two highest-scoring waves are combined together for the overall total that the surfer earns in the heat.
Surfers are allowed to catch as many waves as they want in a heat, but wave selection can be crucial, especially given the unpredictable nature of the ocean.
How long has surfing been an Olympic sport?
Surfing first made its appearance as an Olympic sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Paris/Tahiti can mark the second time it will be an Olympics sport.
Why is Olympics surfing taking place in Tahiti?
Tahiti is approximately 10,000 miles from Paris and the surfing event will represent a record distance between an event and a host city.
Tahiti is in French Polynesia. It is the cultural and economic capital of French Polynesia, a territory of France. Athletes from Tahiti compete for France in the Olympics.
The Paris organizing committee hopes by holding the surfing event in Tahiti, it will showcase another aspect of French culture to the world and make the French territory feel more connected to these Olympic Games.
The competition will be held at Teahupo’o, known for its famous and extreme wave, which has been part of the World Surf League's Championship tour for more than two decades.
How the wave forms is considered a natural marvel: The pitch and shape of the barrels of water come from Southern Ocean swells that bend and race along a large, shallow reef. The wave leaves from a sloped bottom, hurling toward the reef and breaking below sea level.
The left-handed waves are usually between 6 to 10 feet high but at times have exceeded 20 feet. The ride is short — lasting between 200 to 300 feet — but extremely fast and intense.
Because of this combination of factors, it’s considered a difficult wave to ride and has claimed the life of at least one surfer. In fact, the name of the wave loosely translates into English as “pile of skulls,” reminding even the world’s most seasoned surfers to proceed with caution.
Who are the top contenders for the United States in surfing?
Surfing contenders for the U.S. include:
- Caroline Marks from Melbourne Beach, Florida (2nd Olympics)
- Carissa Moore from Honolulu, Hawaii (2nd Olympics)
- Caity Simmers from Oceanside, Calif. (1st Olympics)
- Griffin Colapinto from San Clemente, Calif. (1st Olympics)
- John John Florence from Oahu, Hawaii (2nd Olympics)
Moore is the reigning Olympic gold medalist after winning the event in the Tokyo Olympics. She's also a five-time world champion. According to the IOC, she plans to step away from competitive surfing after Paris 2024.
The 31-year-old, Hawaii-born Moore is widely regarded as one of the greatest female surfers of all time.
Marks is the reigning world champion. She came in first in the 2023 World Surf League Championship Tour, followed by Carissa Moore, who came in second, Tyler Wright from Australia in third, and Caity Simmers in fourth.
“This is way different from Tokyo, when we were in pandemic and there were no spectators — it felt secluded,” Marks told AP. “This Olympics definitely have a different vibe and it's great to be back.”
