Surfing in the Olympics: A visual guide for the 2024 Paris (Tahiti) venue

Surf's up in Tahiti for this year's Paris 2024 Olympics.

Surfing makes its second appearance as an Olympic competition since it debuted in the Tokyo 2021 Games. French Polynesia's island of Tahiti will host the event for four days between July 27 and Aug. 4.

Tahiti is about 9,700 miles from Paris – one of the largest distances between an Olympic host city and a medal event. Here's what else you need to know about the location, judging and the surfers this year:

Where is the Olympic surfing venue?

The surfing venue is on the French Polynesian Islands in the middle of the South Pacific, about 3,700 miles from Australia. Tahiti is the largest island in the Society Islands and has massive swells and powerful waves. The best break is off the shores of Teahupo’o (sounds like TAY-UH-HOO-POW-OW), a village of about 1,500 people.

It will be the temporary home for 48 Olympic surfers, including American Carissa Moore, the defending women's gold medalist.

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More Olympic visual graphics: Volleyball under the Eiffel Tower? Horse riding at Versailles? Mapping the Paris Olympics

Teahupo'o combines a lush, tropical topography with barrel riding, where surfers travel at high speeds inside the hollowed-out waves.

“It’s one of the most magical places in the world,’’ said Caroline Marks, a member of the U.S. Olympic team and the 2023 WSL Women's World Tour Champion. “It can be a pretty scary wave, but also so incredible."

Why are waves considered "heavy"?

Any extremely dangerous wave is referred to as "heavy" by surfers. This includes extremely powerful waves that hurl tons of water toward the shore and onto unlucky surfers. It has been said that the waves off of Teahupo'o are the strongest in the world, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.

The steepness of a wave depends on the depth and slope of the ocean floor during its final 150 feet of travel before breaking in shallow water. The timing and size of the wave are also important.

More: Meet the special agent guarding the U.S. Olympic surfing team in Tahiti

When does the Olympic surfing event begin?

The competition will take place over four days determined by the best wave conditions within a 10-day window, which runs from July 27 to Aug. 4.

The Paris Olympics will be broadcast on NBC, USA Network, Golf Channel, CNBC and E!. Check your local TV listings for events and times. Events also will stream on Peacock.

Surfing schedule at the 2024 Paris Olympics

The men's and women's fields will each be made up of 24 surfers. The two competitions will follow similar formats: three rounds, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.

Surfing tricks and maneuvers

Teahupo’o's waves are known for their massive towering barrel waves. Surfers can expect to see waves as high as 26 feet, which are heavy and hollow and can break fairly quickly. Because large waves are expected, surfers may need to limit their maneuvers.

Here are some examples of moves done by pro surfers in ideal wave conditions.

How Olympic surfing is judged?

Five judges will watch the surfers execute tricks and maneuvers on the waves. They will be scored on the line they choose on the wave – the path they take – and where they do maneuvers on the wave, which is key to generating speed.

The most critical portion of a wave is the section where it's the steepest. The closer a maneuver near the critical zone, the more points the surfer can earn.

The judges are mostly interested in whether the surfer is pushing the limits and performing creative tricks like aerials and tail slides.

The scoring

◾ Each heat can vary from 20 to 35 minutes – depending on the wave conditions.

◾ The judges' top and lowest scores are eliminated for each wave. The surfer is given the average of the three scores remaining.

◾ A surfer's overall score is the combined scores of their two best waves.

◾ With 10 points awarded for a flawless ride, a perfect heat consists of 20 points overall.

CONTRIBUTING Josh Peter/Paste BN

SOURCE Olympics.com, SurfingToday.com, NASA's The Earth Observatory and Paste BN research