Vitor Oliveira

The wave pool era created new business and competitive opportunities. The Wavepool Surf Tour (WPST) is one of them. Some might say that artificial wave surfing is a completely new sport. It takes place in controlled environments, in fresh water, and does not rely on ocean swells and tides. Whatever you think riding waves in a surf park is, there will always be the surfboard and moving walls of water. The newly-launched Wavepool Surf Tour is a competitive format that blends the submission of digital video clips and live performance at events. It is comprised of two special events, eight digital contests, regional finals, and a world final. Interestingly, the digital format in water sports is not new. In late 2014, a group of bodyboarders created a competition that ran parallel to the world tour. It was called the Free Surf World Tour (FSWT) and invited riders to submit their best footage, which fans then judged. Hawaiian bodyboarding maestro Jeff Hubbard eventually won the in...

Endless Surf and Flowstate are joining forces to bring artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, and programmable wave technology closer together with a new system that could change how surfers share a session. The wave pool industry is changing the way we engage with surfing. The two companies have announced a strategic partnership designed to create a more connected technology platform for surf park operators and a more personalized experience for surfers. The collaboration combines Endless Surf 's customizable wave technology with Flowstate's AI-powered computer vision, automated video and analytics platform. Flowstate will integrate with Endless Surf's existing software ecosystem, including Surf Concierge, Swell Studio and Wave Doctor. The technology will also be incorporated into future Endless Surf lagoons, helping determine camera positions and optimize media capture. But the companies say the partnership goes beyond video. They plan to develop new applic...

It's easy to spot which is which at a glance, but can you really tell the difference between zinc and regular sunscreen? If you spend hours in the water, you're also subjecting yourself to prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Simultaneously, saltwater, sweat, wind, and repeated wiping can quickly turn a good layer of sunscreen into virtually nothing. So, should surfers use zinc sunscreen or regular sunscreen? The answer depends on what you value most, from water resistance and skin coverage to how often you want to reapply. Although both types can provide effective UV protection, they work in different ways and behave differently in the water. Shall we take a look at what separates them? What is zinc sunscreen? Zinc sunscreen typically uses zinc oxide as its active UV-filtering ingredient. Zinc oxide is a mineral sunscreen ingredient that provides broad-spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB radiation. Rather than relying primarily on organic UV fil...

Sixteen-year-old Australian Lucy Darragh and Indonesian tube specialist Rajo "Barrel" Saputra have won the 2026 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang after a spectacular day of surf at one of Bali's most famous waves. The event, now in its 23rd year, waited until August 20 for the kind of conditions it was built around. Padang Padang finally delivered a day of clean, powerful barrels, with 24 invited surfers competing on Bali's Bukit Peninsula. The Rip Curl Cup has a one-month waiting period, running from August 1 to 31, during Indonesia's prime swell season. The format is designed around a simple idea: wait for the right swell, then run the entire contest in a single day. The limited field also means surfers have only 48 hours to reach Bali once the event receives the green light. That patience paid off. Padang Padang finally turns on There had been an earlier chance to run the main event on August 11, but the waves did not have enough size and consistency. A stron...

Competitive surfing has spent decades trying to solve a problem that other sports dealt with long ago. A surf contest can be amazing to watch - online or on site - but it can also involve long waits, changing conditions and stretches when very little happens on screen. The World Surf League (WSL) has built a global professional sport around individual surfers competing in heats. But the new Surfing Super League (SSL) wants to try something different. Set to launch in Australia in summer 2028, the Surfing Super League is a team competition designed around a 90-minute game. Eight regional teams will compete along Australia's east coast, with four teams involved in each game. The league is being created by former Surfing Australia CEO Chris Mater and is designed specifically for live television and a stronger connection between surfers, teams and local fans. The idea is simple enough to explain in a few seconds. Four surfers represent each team during a game, and they take tu...

A surfer checking the tide chart before paddling out probably isn't thinking about the Moon, Earth's rotation, or the mechanics of the solar system. They're thinking about whether the reef will have enough water over it, whether the sandbar will finally start working, or whether the waves are going to improve as the tide comes in. Fair enough. But there's something about that tide chart that most surfers probably don't know. The tides are slowly changing the length of Earth's days. NASA notes that tidal interactions have been slowing Earth's rotation for billions of years. And we have geological evidence showing just how different Earth once was. For example, sedimentary records in South Australia indicate that around 620 million years ago, a day on Earth lasted only about 21.9 hours. So, yes, your tide chart is connected to a planet that is very, very slowly changing. How does that happen? The ocean acts like a brake You probably already know the...

I am not a surf instructor, and I never wanted to be. Yet, I have casually taught fewer than a handful of people to surf in over 35 years of surfing. Last Saturday, I taught three in a row and confirmed an old adage (related to surfboards). In over three decades, I have kept my love of surfing to myself. I have never forced, imposed, or gotten my friends and family excited to join me and try to get up on a surfboard. If they don't show interest, it's OK. Besides, they know who to call when the subject is surfing... and London. Therefore, because I have never been pushy with others about my hobbies (the same applies to indoor climbing ), my contribution to spreading the stoke or increasing the crowd factor is not particularly relevant. Not guilty, I guess. Congrats, you're a surfer However, life has crazy days reserved for us. Suddenly, what was supposed to be my father's 80th birthday party quickly transformed into a "massive" surfing baptism for three...

The words of Zachary Payne have and carry deep meaning. They come from the depth of someone who truly feels surfing. In the age of social media and inner entertainment ruled by short video clips and fast content, there is not much space for poets anymore. Let alone surf poets. Zachary Payne is one of the few who are building bridges between the spiritual side and essence of wave-riding and that treasure world of words and literature. SurferToday.com has been the home of surf poetry for quite a while, thanks to this elite club of those who refuse to shut down one of humanity's last enclaves of intelligence and thought. Payne publicly revealed "Where Did the Stoke Go?" at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA). Before reading the poem, Zach gave a short intro where he shared a bit of background about the piece and a humorous story about the very first time he shared it. He explained that the poem is about surfing, but it's also about poetry itself and the creative pro...

Imagine enjoying a day at a wave pool like you're playing a video game in which you are one of the characters with goals and a mission. Flowstate is adding a new layer to the wave pool experience by turning every surf session into part of an ongoing game. The Australian surf technology company has launched Flowstate Game Modes, a points-based gaming platform that rewards surfers for what happens on every wave while helping surf parks encourage repeat visits.  The system is already running at URBNSURF Sydney, URBNSURF Melbourne, Atlantic Park Surf, Lost Shore, and will soon expand to SurfTown MUC before reaching more parks in Flowstate's global network. Instead of treating each booking as a standalone session, the platform connects every ride to leaderboards, achievements, seasonal competitions, and rewards. But how does this work? Every wave now earns points Flowstate's gaming engine is built on the company's artificial intelligence model, which already analyzes...

Every surfer has experienced it: you paddle out feeling either too full or completely empty. Halfway through the session, your shoulders begin to fade, your reactions slow, and every wave seems just a little harder to catch. Choosing what to eat before surfing is not only about satisfying hunger but also about giving your body the right fuel at the right time. Unlike running or cycling, surfing combines prolonged aerobic exercise with repeated bursts of high-intensity effort. A typical session can involve constant paddling, duck dives, sprinting to catch waves, quick pop-ups, and maneuvering the surf line like crazy. That means your pre-surf meal needs to deliver steady energy, support muscular endurance, avoid digestive discomfort, and leave you feeling light enough to move freely in the water. Finding that balance isn't always easy, but we've got you covered. One simple brunch checks all those boxes. It's SurferToday's recipe. SurferToday's power brunch ...

It's surprising how much professional surfing and professional tennis have in common. Both sports travel the world, both reward athletes with ranking points based on their results, both use rankings to seed competitors and determine entry into elite events, and both also rely on a development pathway that allows rising talent to earn a place among the world's best. On top of that, both sports share a similar tournament ladder format at each event that takes place in different countries with different conditions (beach, point, or reef breaks, and clay, grass, or hard courts). Yet one very important difference separates them. Tennis celebrates the player who performs best over an entire year. Surfing no longer does. That difference has become one of the biggest talking and controversial points in competitive surfing since the World Surf League (WSL) introduced the Finals format in 2021. The change created a dramatic finish to the season, but it also changed the meaning of t...

Whether you've played it or not, "TransWorld Surf" is one of the most overlooked surfing games ever made. However, it arrived at an unfortunate moment - released almost simultaneously with " Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer " - and was eventually overshadowed despite introducing several ideas that were surprisingly ambitious for 2001. Activision's heavily marketed "Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer," powered by the proven "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" engine and carrying the sport's biggest name, dominated the spotlight. Many players bought only one surfing video game, and Kelly Slater usually won.  Yet more than two decades later, "TransWorld Surf" has quietly become a cult classic. Browse online discussions among surfers and retro gamers, and a pattern quickly emerges: many believe it delivered the most authentic surfing experience of its era, alongside another one, "Sunny Garcia Surfing." Its realistic waves, fait...