Surfers take on their competitors and the elements, performing maneuvers on waves to outscore their opponents. No two waves are the same, so each new wave offers different scoring potential and strategies. 20 athletes in each gender will progress through initial and main rounds. The initial rounds will have four and five-person heats, and the main rounds will have two-person heats, where the winner advances to the next round and the loser is eliminated. The length of a heat is normally 30 minutes. Athletes compete in timed heats, with each E athlete’s two highest scoring waves counting towards their result. Five judges score each wave out of 10, based on the difficulty, variety and number of moves and their power, speed and flow between maneuvers. The surfer with the highest combined score wins the heat.
