The New York Times Explains Competitive Surfing In A Manner So Simple, So Pure!

You know the saying about not being able to see the forest for the trees? Sadly, that’s us with surfing. 

We’ve been so deeply embedded in this world, so wholly ingrained with its doctrines and nuances, that we’ve lost the ability to understand the activity in its purest form. That’s why, from time to time, it’s helpful to have an outsider come in and remind us how simple surfing—and in this case, competitive surfing—really is. 

Today, the failing New York Times released an eight-minute breakdown of competitive surfing and its newly formed, yet-to-be exercised Olympic ties. It includes cameos from Olympic-qualified surfers Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira, John Florence, Caroline Marks, Johanne Defay, Owen Wright, Sally Fitzgibbons, and Brisa Hennessy. 

In the short, the NYT breaks down competitive surfing in a way that any Tom, Dick, or Harriet could understand. And it made us wonder: why do we complicate and beleaguer the topic to such a degree of absurdity?

Their analysis was as follows:

Surfing has three core facets: airs, turns, barrels. 

Competitive surfing has three core criteria: speed, power, and flow. 

Certain conditions favor certain surfers: unless (as Gabriel Medina astutely pointed out) you’re a Brazilian, in which case all conditions suit you.

There are a few other tasty tidbits as well. Things we’ll certainly look to implement in our upcoming Surf100 event. It ain’t the Olympics, we admit, but at least it’s happening in the foreseeable future. 

Have you reserved a spot yet?