The women's shortboard competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held from 25 to 27 July at the Shidashita Beach, or "Shida", located about 40 miles (64 km) outside of Tokyo in Chiba.
The medals for the competition were presented by Bernard Rajzman, IOC Member, one Olympian, and Silver Medalist, Brazil; and the medalists' bouquets were presented by Fernando Aguerre, ISA President; United States.
Background.
This was the first time the surfing is held at the Olympics; it was one of five temporary sports selected for Tokyo 2020. Surfing has also been selected as a temporary sport for 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
Qualification.
Quota places were allocated to the athletes at the following events:
There is a maximum of 2 men and 2 women per NOC.
Competition format.
The competition consists of six rounds:
The length of each heat (20 to 35 minutes) and the maximum number of waves each surfer can ride are determined by the technical director ahead of the day of competition. Scoring for each wave is from 0 to 10, with the best two waves for each surfer counting. Scores are based on the difficulty of manoeuvres performed, innovation and progression, variety, combination, speed, power, and flow of each manoeuvre.
Schedule.
Competition took place over 3 days between 25 July and 27 July. Due to a tropical storm the inaugural Olympic surfing finals were moved from Thursday 29 July to Tuesday 27 July.
Results.
Round 1.
The first round is non-elimination. Surfers are seeded into five heats of four surfers each, with the top two surfers advancing straight to Round 3. The bottom two surfers are seeded into Round 2, the first elimination round.
Round 2.
The top three surfers from each heat in Round 2 advance to Round 3. The bottom two surfers from each heat are eliminated.
Round 3.
The winner from each head-to-head heat qualifies to the next round.
References.
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