Natural Selection Tour ‘Surf’ Kicks Off: 12 Athletes Ride ‘Jaw Dropping’ Waves This Week

Earlier this year, Travis Rice announced an expansion of his Natural Selection Tour (NST) to include surf, ski, and mountain bike categories. This week, the surf competition kicks off at a remote atoll in the Pacific Ocean, where 12 eager athletes will put everything on the line. The action starts at noon Pacific time / 3:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Feb. 18, and will conclude with the finals on Thursday, Feb. 20.

Athletes competing in the Natural Selection Surf competition include Coco Ho, Milla Brown, Kirra Pinkerton, Anne Dos Santos, Mikey February, Victor Bernardo, Kauli Vaast, Noah Beschen, Eithan Osborne, Harry Bryant, Al Cleland Jr., and Soli Bailey.

“I heard it would be in a super epic location with epic, mainly righthand barrels, and I said right away, ‘that is exactly where I want to be,’” Dos Santos said in a press release. “I was frothing so hard to compete in something only a handful of surfers would get to do.”

On day one, NST surfers face off in one-hour “as live” sessions. There will be two brackets of four men and four women surfing together. The surfer with the top overall session impression will move on to the next stage.

The second round of sessions will be a repechage for the women and a semi-final for the men. All of the male surfers will break into two sessions and the women into another. The top overall session impression from the second round will earn a spot in the final on Feb. 20. 

Both days of the competition will be live-streamed on Red Bull TV and Natural Selection’s YouTube channel.

Natural Selection Surf: Judging

As with the NST Snowboard competition, athletes in the NST Surf competition will be judged based on their creativity, risk, execution, difficulty, and overall impression. Judges will consider how the athletes approach waves, choose unique lines, take risks with bold maneuvers, execute with style, and respond creatively to the unique challenges of each and every ocean wave.

“It’s about who dominates the session with that undeniable flow and style,” Ian Crane, one of the judges, said in a press release. “You know who’s ripping — it’s a gut feeling.”

The lineup of judges is almost as star-studded as the athlete roster. In addition to Crane, who is a pro surfer himself, Pam Burridge and Brad Gerlach will assess the athletes’ performances. Burridge is known as an Australian pioneer of female pro surfing. Gerlach, the head judge, was widely regarded as one of the sport’s best tow-in big-wave riders during his career.

“When a surfer pulls something off that’s insane, I want them to know that I saw it,” Gerlach said in the press release. “It’s not about the numbers; it’s about recognizing greatness when we see it.”

How to Watch the Natural Selection Tour

The NST surf competition will take place over 2 days: Tuesday, Feb. 18, and Thursday, Feb. 20. Viewers can tune in for free on Red Bull TV or Natural Selection’s YouTube channel. The event’s Instagram page, @naturalselectionsurf, will give fans a peek behind the scenes of the event.

Roark, one of the presenting sponsors, is also presenting the premiere of Natural Selection at the Rivian South Coast Theater in L.A.’s Laguna Beach on Thursday at 6 p.m. If you’re in the area and interested in joining that event, RSVP on the Rivian website. Eithan Osborne, Kirra Pinkerton, and Brad Gerlach will host the screening and will be available afterward for a short Q&A.

The NST Bike competition will be hosted on March 5 in New Zealand. The Ski competition is slated for April 26 in Alaska. Stay tuned for more info on those events and how to watch them.