Surfing

The ocean as the stadium: Surfing features heats of 4-5 surfers, 20-35 minutes, with only the best 2 waves counting, scored 0-10 on Difficulty, Speed, Power, and Flow. The "barrel" (riding inside the hollow curl of the wave) is the highest-scoring maneuver, and the "priority system" gives one surfer exclusive rights to a wave for 30 seconds, making it man vs. nature on a 30-second canvas at venues like Teahupo'o, Tahiti.