After two appearances as a discretionary sport, surfing is now a permanent part of the Olympic Games. The sport has a storied history in Southern California, where the 2028 Olympics will take place.

Surfing is a highly variable sport, with different locations featuring different types of waves, and weather having a large impact on the wave conditions any given day. As such, surf contests have large competition windows with the goal of allowing surfers to compete under the best possible conditions.

Each individual wave that a surfer rides is evaluated by a panel of judges on a scale of up to 10 points. Surfers must be patient, as wave selection is crucial.

A surf contest has multiple rounds of competition, with early rounds typically featuring heats of three or four surfers, and later rounds featuring head-to-head elimination matchups.

There will be a men's competition and a women's competition for surfing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The men's and women's surfing competitions are scheduled to begin on July 15, 2028, with the medal rounds tentatively scheduled for July 18. However, the full competition window for surfing lasts nine days and runs through July 23. Depending on wave conditions during that window, the schedule could potentially change to make use of the contingency days.

Lower Trestles, located about an hour south of Los Angeles, will host the surfing competitions. The venue has a storied history and has previously hosted major events such as World Surf League contests.