On August 3rd, the opening ceremony set the tone. Surfers from each country stepped up to pour sand brought from their home surf breaks into a glass box placed on stage. Arun Vasu, President of the Surfing Federation of India and publisher of Tracks India, closed the evening with a quiet reminder: “While the world is getting more and more divided, let’s bring it together through opportunities like this.”
The next morning at 7:30 AM, the Men’s Open division kicked off with 16 heats, each featuring three athletes. The event will run until August 12th, with surfers going through three rounds before making it to the quarters, semis, and finals.
There’s more riding on this year’s championship than just medals—results here will help decide who qualifies for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, in both the Open Men and Open Women categories.
How It Works
The competition is split into four categories: Open Men, Open Women, U18 Boys, and U18 Girls. Each country can field up to three surfers per division. Every athlete competes in three rounds (two for U18 Girls) before making it to the quarterfinals and beyond.
Since surfing depends so much on conditions, the schedule shifts around to match the swell. The finals are currently set for August 12th, but everything depends on how the ocean lines up.
This year, surfers are representing 19 countries across Asia, including Malaysia, Philippines, Lebanon, Japan, Saudi, Kuwait, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Korea, Bangladesh, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Maldives, UAE, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and India.
How It’s Scored
The judges usually look for a combination of elements: the degree of difficulty, progressive maneuvers, and the speed, power, and flow with which the surfer commits to the wave. To simplify it further, we asked Perceval (Percy) Fayon, one of the commentators at the event, to explain it for those watching a surf competition for the first time.
“Judges are looking for combinations of major manouvers with a steap angle of entry performed on the most critical part of the wave —namely the lip that is about to break, right in the pocket — the most powerful part of the wave.” Percy says.
“When it comes to aerials (which comes under innovative and progressive manouvers), he adds, “A full rotation or 360-degree air scores the highest, whereas an air reverse (which is a 180-degree rotation) doesn’t score as much.”
Naturally, to do all that’s expected on a wave, wave selection becomes one of the most important aspects. “Wave selection is critical,” Percy explains. “The best scores are given to waves that are larger in magnitude and have a steaper wall.”
Where to Watch
If you’re tuning in from afar or just catching up between work breaks, you can watch the championship live on the Asian Surfing Federation’s YouTube channel (click here). Heat schedules, surfer lineups, and scores are updated on Live Heats (click here). And for regular updates, behind-the-scenes stories, and what’s happening on the beach, @sfisurfing has it all on Instagram.
