OK people, just eight days till the five ring circus begins.

The event that brings all those weird and obscure sports to our tele screens every four or so years, and now surfing is one of them, lining up against the might of badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, and fencing.

Is there any other sport on the Olympic roster that encompasses everything from Polynesian prehistory, to psychedelic drug culture, to Bronzed Aussie conformity? Surfing’s got it all.

I’m wondering how this vast, history-rich sport is going to be presented in the global spotlight.

It was a shock when the ASP sold pro surfing to the Woz and the eggheads from Santa Monica began the whitewash campaign: drop the specialist terminology, make it accessible to non-surfers, remember, a goofyfooter stands with their right leg forward.

We’ve now had eight years of it. Time enough to get accustomed to the vanilla schtick, but the Olympics is sure to outdo even the Woz.

Back on the 4th of July, surfers were primed for the coming weirdness when the world’s fifth richest man was seen surfing a foil board goofyfoot - remember, that’s when a surfer has their right leg forward - so how will the Olympics top that?

At least we can be assured that Bellambi’s favourite son - HG Nelson of course, who once surfed howling Bellambi Bombora on a homemade okanui - will hear the call and respond in kind.

And will Fernando Aguerre sing his not-boring song once more? “We’ll be singing this song for many years,” promised sweet FA, so in Japan I expect to see a thousand face masks straining at the straps: “A better world through surfing!”

But what of the actual feet-in-the wax surfing, I hear you ask.

The current prediction has, not one but two ‘phoons on the forecast, with the models spinning like a Belarusian gymnast off a pommel horse - ten foot one day, two foot the next, six foot the day after that. All eyes are on the striking grey sand of Shidashita.

Like everything else under the big top, the surfing is sure to be a spectacle.

- Stu

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Watch: Vantage Points // Russell Bierke & Andrew Kaineder

From the Wish You Were Here department: Wednesday morning on the Bukit and it's pumping. Not only is it one of the biggest swells of the season thus far, it's also hitting with a lot of westerly bias making the the broad Ulus lineup even harder to decipher. The afternoon brought a falling tide and the Outside Corner provides pattern recognition for those with the right equipment. Read More >