Paris Olympic Games 2024: Where is surfing held? What are the rules? Is skateboarder Sky Brown competing?

Surfing continues as an Olympic sport after making its debut at Tokyo 2020, but at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games the athletes will be competing in a venue very far removed from the French capital, 10,000 miles away in Tahiti. The French territory's famous waves will play host to 48 athletes performing tricks and manoeuvres to impress a judging panel and bid for Olympic glory.

Surfing has only been part of the Summer Games programme since Tokyo 2020, but in its short lifespan as an Olympic event it’s quickly become a fan favourite.

The event has already made huge waves as Brazillian surfer Gabriel Medina produced an already iconic photo, standing mid-air above the waves like a divine figure.

Like some events at Paris 2024, surfing has suffered postponements due to weather and uncontrollable conditions.

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The third round of the surfing was called off on July 30 for bad weather, with it being planned to take place on July 31 instead.

However, the surfing is not actually in Paris. So, where is it?

WHERE IS SURFING AT PARIS 2024?

While the majority of events at the Paris Olympics are taking place in and around France’s capital city, with notable venues including the iconic Palace of Versailles, surfing is held considerably further away from home. 10,000 miles away, in fact, at Teahupo’o in the French territory of Tahiti in French Polynesia.

Teahupo’o is a surf spot famous for having some of the heaviest waves in the world and regularly plays host to the professional surfing circuit.

IS SKY BROWN TAKING PART?

British teenager Sky Brown made headlines at Tokyo 2020 as she became the youngest Team GB medallist, winning bronze aged just 13 in the skateboarding.

The multi-talented athlete had been hoping to compete in both skateboarding and surfing in Paris this summer, having surfed since she was four. Participating in both would make her the first British athlete to compete in two different sports at one Olympics in more than a century.

But she missed out on qualification for the Games after being knocked out of the World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico in March, meaning she will have to wait until the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 – where she lives – for a second shot.

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

A panel of five judges score surfers as they perform tricks on a wave. Tricks are judged on their difficulty, type and the variety the athlete chooses, while the surfer is also judged on their speed, power and how seamlessly their chosen moves connect to one another.

Athletes compete over six rounds. Eight heats of three surfers each compete in round 1, with the winner advancing straight to round 3. The other two surfers compete in head-to-head heats in round 2, with the loser eliminated. From round 3 onwards, it becomes head-to-head, single-elimination contests.

The surfers are judged on their two best waves in each heat and the athlete with the highest combined score progresses to the next round.

Athletes compete on shortboards, which are smaller, faster and more easily manoeuvrable than longboards, making them easier to perform tricks on.

WHO WILL COMPETE?

24 men and 24 women will take part in the competition over several rounds, having gone through a long qualification process with each country eligible to take two male and two female athletes to Tahiti. Brazil, as the highest-ranked national team, and Japan earned a third spot on the men’s side, while Brazil and the USA have a third quota spot in the women’s competition.

Invitations were also extended to nations with historically small Olympic delegations, with El Salvador invited to send one male athlete and Nicaragua one female athlete.

American reigning Olympic champion Carissa Moore returns to defend her title. On the men’s side, 2020 gold medallist Italo Ferreira will not be back in action having missed out on selection due to fierce competition for Brazil’s quota spots.

Brazillian surfer Gabriel Medina produced the photo of the Games so far as he celebrated his 9.9 score with an incredible mid-air celebration that has gone viral across the internet.

After pulling off an incredible run, he took off out of the water and pulled a messianic pose high above the waves.

Brazil's Gabriel Medina reacts after getting a large wave in the 5th heat of the men's surfing round 3, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Teahupo'o, on the French Polynesian Island of Tahiti, on July 29, 2024.

Image credit: Getty Images

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WHEN DOES SURFING TAKE PLACE?

The Paris 2024 competition will take place over four days in a 10-day window from 27 July to 5 August. Wave conditions will dictate which dates are suitable for competition, with the medal events currently slated for 31 July.

The gold medal matches take place on August 2.

HOW CAN I WATCH?

If you can make it to Tahiti, the entire surfing event is free to watch. Otherwise, you can stream the action on discovery+.

discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer

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