Apple today shared a video showing the Apple Watch in use during the World Surf League Championship Tour, with surfers describing how they use the watch in competition.
Surfers may be hundreds of meters from the beach during competitions and cannot hear the announcements due to the noise of the water and wind. The World Surf League adopted the Apple Watch to solve the problem, linking the device to the scoring system. Surfers can get up-to-date information directly on the watch.
“I know what it was like to compete without this technology,” said professional surfer Lakey Peterson. “There is nothing more frustrating than being in a competition without this technology.”
The Apple Watch lets surfers know how much time they have left in a heat, who has priority and what the score is. The watch is updated in real time, with surfer Isabella Nichols calling the information “crucial” to the outcome of a competition. Mateus Herdy said the watch vibrates when the priority changes, so competitors don’t even need to look at the screen.
“The Apple Watch is now part of our equipment,” Nichols said. “It’s like a surfboard or a rashie.”
The World Surf League didn’t lose an Apple Watch despite the intense conditions surfers subjected the device to. Surfers wore the watch to dangerous surf spots like Pipeline in Hawaii and Teahupo’o in Tahiti, and it escaped unscathed.
The video appears to be part of a new “Apple at Play” series. Apple previously had a partnership with the World Surf League, and the 2021 and 2022 championship tours were broadcast on Apple TV in the documentary series “Make or Break.”
