Right now the Paris Olympics are taking place just across the Channel from us. As surfers, whilst we might enjoy some of the other sports, our attention is more likely to be fixed on the infamous break of Teahupo’o in Tahiti – the chosen venue for the surfing competition (due to the fickle summer beach breaks of SW France). Here, 48 of the best men and women surfers (according to the ISA qualification) are fighting it out to claim an Olympic medal, ideally of the gold colour.
This is the second Olympics where surfing has been a recognised sport, with the first being the previous event in Japan. And despite some limited viewing options here in the UK, it’s been arguably a good competition to watch, especially due to to the epic conditions for Round 3. This saw some stand-out rides from the likes of Gabriel Medina and Ramzi Boukhiam, plus heavy wipe outs galore and plenty of broken boards. It certainly will have raised surfing’s profile further across the Olympic world (and beyond).
But is the Olympics good for surfing? We turned to our Instagram fam again to find out what their thoughts were.
We posted a poll on our Instagram feed and asked our followers to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question “Is the Olympics good for surfing?”. At the time of writing, we had 169 responses and the survey said…
Yes – 44%
No – 56%
So the “nos” have it, but the split is not too dramatic either way. Let’s take a look at some of the comments people left to back up why they voted as they did.
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The fans
Here’s what some of the people who answered yes had to say…
“Surfing is definitely a sport and has a unique culture and connection to the earth, it’s better to watch than water polo”
@scottperine“To watch a contest in great waves with the wonderful insightful commentary of Barton Lynch, uninterrupted by constant annoying ad breaks and commentator promotion of ladders, watches etc is such a pleasure. Those who want everything for free will hate to hear this, but I’d say it makes a great case for putting the tour behind a paywall”
@barax4“No one who qualified refused to participate – the people badmouthing surfing in the Olympic Games are people who didn’t qualify. No one who is actually surfing in Tahiti has said anything negative about the experience of being an Olympian – have they?”
@surfexplore
The not-fans
And here’s what the less positive ones felt…
“It’s already over crowded everywhere with no surf etiquette”
@antonlongman.8“Don’t tell the BBC as far as our national broadcaster is concerned Olympic surfing doesn’t exist.”
@gasifrodpeter“Considering the destruction of the reef to build a tower that wasn’t needed, no. I’d say it’s not great.”
@powellsupply
Some valid opinions on both sides, but perhaps being in its relative infancy, it’s too early to tell whether or not it would have the negative impact as many think it does.
Arguably, if the contests are held at quality surf breaks in good waves, then that probably makes it feel like more of a positive experience. Although you only have to look at the recent few years on the WCT tour to see that event the world’s best spots can get skunked even in the ‘prime season’.
I for one have enjoyed the coverage (yes I was lucky enough to have Discovery+ as part of my Sky TV package). The game changer compared to watching live WSL events? NO ADVERTISING BREAKS EVERY TWO MINUTES!
The next Olympics will see Los Angeles become the host city, so that’s likely to mean Trestles will become the venue. Surfing has been confirmed by the IOC as one of the core sports for it, along with skateboarding again. Perhaps we will run the poll again in 1445 days and see what you are all thinking then.
Photo credit: ISA / Tim Mckenna
