Surfing is set to make its Olympics debut in Tokyo.
In the United States, Olympics surfing won’t be shown live on TV anywhere, but you can watch every heat, quarterfinal, semifinal and final live or on-demand via NBCOlympics.com or the NBC Sports app.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch through the NBC digital platforms, but if you don’t have cable or don’t have a cable log-in, here are some different ways you can still watch a live stream of Olympics surfing online:
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FuboTV
You can watch all NBC digital content (everything on the NBC Olympics website or NBC Sports app) with a subscription to FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Olympics surfing live or on-demand via the NBC Sports app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the NBC Olympics website.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can do that with your FuboTV credentials.
Sling TV
You can watch all NBC digital content (everything on the NBC Olympics website or NBC Sports app) with a subscription to Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service, and you can get your first month (which will cover the entirety of the Olympics) for just $10:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Olympics surfing live or on-demand on the NBC Sports app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the NBC Olympics website.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can do that with your Sling credentials.
AT&T TV
AT&T TV has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” You can watch all NBC digital content (everything on the NBC Olympics website or NBC Sports app) via a subscription to any of them, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for AT&T TV, you can watch Olympics surfing live or on-demand on the NBC Sports app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the NBC Olympics website.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can do that with your AT&T TV credentials.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch all NBC digital content (everything on the NBC Olympics website or NBC Sports app) with a subscription to Hulu With Live TV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch every Olympics surfing live or on-demand on the NBC Sports app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the NBC Olympics website.
You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can do that with your Hulu credentials.
Olympics Surfing Preview
Surfing was selected in 2016 as one of five additional sports proposed by the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee to “bring more youthful and vibrant events and culture into the Olympic program,” per the Olympics official site.
The competition will take place at Tsurigasaki Beach, which is sometimes called Shidashita Beach by locals. The interesting thing with surfing is that a lot is dependent on the waves Mother Nature provides.
“It’s so weird, competitive surfing,” USA’s Kolohe Andino said. “You could be the best surfer, the most talked-about surfer, whatever, and you go out there and you just need a score and you cannot find a wave. It’s like Tom Brady needs to go down the field for the winning score and he can’t find the ball.”
Here is how the sport is scored:
- A judging panel consists of five judges who analyse performances.
- They score each wave on a scale of one to ten, with two decimal places.
- For each wave, the judges highest and lowest scores are discarded. The surfer is given the average of the three scores remaining.
- A surfer’s two highest-scoring waves are combined for an overall total.
- There is no limits to the number of waves a rider can catch.
- The duration of each heat can vary between 20 and 35 minutes – depending on conditions.
- A perfect ride is 10 points and therefore a perfect heat is a total score of 20 points.
”Everything is really connected. Together all the elements of the criteria just reflect what the general public thinks is good surfing,” International Surfing Association (ISA) technical director Erik Krammer told the Olympic Channel. “That’s what the judges want to see, what the athletes want to see and that’s what the contest wants to see.”
Some big names to watch are Carissa Moore and John John Florence, who have six combined world titles. Both are from Hawaii and will rep the red, white and blue.
“Carissa and John John grew up in Hawaii — more powerful waves, clear water,” U.S. Olympic coach Brett Simpson said. “It’s just a different style. But they’ve spent half their life competing in California and around the globe, and they’re at the top level because they can adapt their styles.”
Moore is the gold favorite at +200 on the women’s side. Brazilians Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira are the frontrunners on the men’s side at +150 and +180, respectively. Florence, who is coming off an ACL injury, is the third favorite at +400.
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