surfing is officially an Olympic sport

[oldmansurfer]

http://www.worldsurfleague.com/posts/216775/world-surf-league-celebrates-surfings-inclusion-in-tokyo-2020-olympic-games I guess it will be a demonstration sport and will be held at Chiba (maybe Waikikichan will have something to say about this location)

[oldmansurfer]

Only bummer is Hawaii will have to compete with the rest of the USA for spots ....unless Hawaii declares itself a sovereign nation like many want to do

[Big H]

Another bummer is the watering down of the field....I assume that each country will be allocated a limited amount of entrants....so traditional powerhouse countries where the bulk of pro surfers come from, Australia, USA/Hawaii, Brazil, France, South Africa will be countered by teams that will have similar allocations for representation but will in actuality be below the level as second or third tier surfers from the strongholds.


http://travelgrom.wpengine.netdna-cdn.c ... raphic.png

[dtc]

Another bummer is the watering down of the field....

No pun intended.

Only 20 entrants per comp (20 men 20 women); I'm thinking probably a limit of 2 per country? So I think there will be a reasonably high quality field - sure there might be people competing who are not as good as people who didnt make it, but that happens in the Olympics anyway (there have been times when the top 5 or 6 100m runners in the USA would all have made the semi finals, except only 3 are allowed to compete)

Not a huge fan of subjective judging events in the Olympics myself, but there are obviously a fair number already

[waikikikichan]

Word has it, that they're trying to have it on Niijima island. It is in the territory of Tokyo. Chiba is not. However Tokyo Disneyland is in Chiba, so maybe they'll bend the rules. But if there is no typhoon, the waves will be flat and wind swill be on-shore in August, like it is right now.

I am totally against having surfing in the Olympics. But the surfing community here wants it so bad. You can accurately judge a 100 meter dash each and every time. For surfing, what if one heat has waves and another is flat ? The rings, pommel horse, un-even bars, target, goal don't change from minute to minute. Plus getting all the competitors, organizer, fans and family to Niijima will be a logistic nightmare.

[Big H]

Another bummer is the watering down of the field....

No pun intended.

- sure there might be people competing who are not as good as people who didnt make it, but that happens in the Olympics anyway....

That's the point I'm trying to make......I won't watch or enjoy some olympic sports because it is not the best competition in that particular sport. Olympic tennis for instance, or olympic soccer. While the field will be pretty good, the pro tour is massively overrepresented by a handful of countries....the rest of the field will probably not the extreme of the the equivalent of the Jamaican bobsled team, but is weighted in that direction. Kinda like the half pipe snowboarding as an olympic event.....that sport is pure Xgames as far as i'm concerned, and heats should be punctuated in the intervals with dj music and laser light shows....not my vision of the olympics but how that sport should be showcased.

I wonder how the competitors feel about it.....would they rather win Pipe or a gold medal at a Rio beach break?

[dtc]

According to wkk's video, it's just like the north shore ...and in between sessions you can do glass blowing

Although going to an onsen after a surf would be really nice

[BoMan]

If there is no typhoon, the waves will be flat and wind swill be on-shore in August, like it is right now.

Bring on the longboards.

[Oldie]

For surfing, what if one heat has waves and another is flat ?

Is that not the same for other surf competitions like the WSL?

The golfing community goes through the same now and seems too not excited about the Olympic tournament either.

[oldmansurfer]

Waikikichan, this article makes it sound like Chiba is already selected as the spot http://www.surfermag.com/features/it-is-offically-official-surfing-is-now-an-olympic-sport/#up9U61oVJR8BsmBA.97and this one say the beach is Shidashita beach http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/international-olympic-committee-formally-votes-to-include-new-sport-in-2020-tokyo-games-its-official-surfing-w_140472/

[oldmansurfer]

So waikikichan, are you familiar with Shidashita?

[waikikikichan]

Shida-Shita is a very famous break for shortboarders. It is in the Ichinomiya area. It is right next to one of my favorite longboard spots named Taito where they had a WLT contest. I won a longboard contest at that break, but if it wasn't for the contest, longboards aren't allowed. Parking and roads will be a difficult.

[dtc]

but if it wasn't for the contest, longboards aren't allowed

So is there a rule that all boards must be above a certain length? Are there inspectors out with tape measures saying 'sorry, 7ft1 is too long'?

[waikikikichan]

You'll be told even before you start unstrapping the boards from the car. And just because you're some big foreigner, you'll be cut some slack, think again. Do you think you're better than John John Florence ? Better than Dane Reynolds ? Even the best surfers in the world needed special permission to surf certain "local" spots here in Japan.

[dtc]

The rule should be something like up to 1ft over your height is a shortboard. Then as a big foreigner I will have some advantages!

[saltydog]

Localism on steroids! Is that because of the ordinance due to safety etc., or some other reasons???

[oldmansurfer]

The rule should be something like up to 1ft over your height is a shortboard. Then as a big foreigner I will have some advantages!

Long ago that would work. Today? When I learned the standard shortboard was 6 inches longer than your height. Now that would be a gunnish board or a funboard. I used to love my 7'2" (a foot taller than me) boards before..... they worked in a variety of waves. (I have moved up to 7'6" or 8' now ). But seriously no one will be using boards that long because they are more skilled at shorter boards.

[BoMan]

The rule should be something like up to 1ft over your height is a shortboard.

If the waves are small, the rule should be something like up to 4ft over your height.

[BoMan]

I like that Skateboading will also be an Olympic demo sport.

The contests will include men's and women's park and street events, with a total of 80 skaters—40 men and 40 women—competing in them. The IOC expects skating to draw a younger audience to the Games.

http://theridechannel.com/news/2016/08/olympics-skateboarding-tokyo-2020

It should bring some tolerance for a sport that's still viewed suspiciously in the public eye. As a senior who slaloms gentle hills, I get the "stink eye" from some residents and folks driving by in their cars.

Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-bet ... 34728.html

[BoMan]

Here's our "color commentator" for the Japan Olympics.

http://www.altdriver.com/lmao/the-best-olympic-commentary-ever/