Professional surfing has its rules. Just like in any other sport, surfers must know what they can and can’t do to beat their opponents and win heats and contests. Competitive surfing is full of hidden guidelines and directives. Athletes who are new to competitive surfing often make mistakes that cost heats. In the majority of the cases, they are simply too focused on catching waves, and they miss a few basic rules. One of the worst things that can happen to a pro surfer is to lose a heat due to a naive interference, despite having the highest two-wave score of his man-on-man clash.

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The most important (and uncommon) rules in competitive surfing

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