Olympic Surfing Has a New Correspondent (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated 4/18/24

Come late July, and into early August, surfing will return to the Olympic stage. After its debut appearance at Tokyo 2020, the sport got a sequel: Paris 2024. But being that surfing is a relatively recent arrival to the Olympic party, and it’s not a sport easily understood by the average viewer in, say, Nebraska, it will need a little explaining.

That’s where Cj Kirwan comes in.

Back in October of 2023, NBC put out a casting call for a “content creator” to cover the surfing portion of the Paris 2024 Olympics, which will go down nearly 10,000 miles away in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. According to the call: “The hired talent will be chosen after a months-long call back process by NBC Olympics producers based on the creator’s storytelling skills, style, technical expertise, and ability to inspire.”

In other words, they wanted someone social media savvy, someone who would resonate with a younger audience and, most importantly, someone who could explain surfing in laypersons' terms for the majority of viewers who know nothing about the sport.

Enter, Cj.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cj Kirwan (@cjkirwan)

On the Today show, the San Diego native explained his vision for the position:

“My main goal is to just explain what surfing is, make it as accessible as possible for people who are tuning in. Like you said, it’s a new sport. And it can be a very intimidating sport when you’re watching these Olympic athletes surfing these huge waves. When people tune in, I want them to know it doesn’t always have to be that crazy. I want them to know what the surfers are looking for when they’re out there, what the judges are looking for to score the waves, and like I said, make surfing accessible to everyone. There’s a lot to offer the world from surfing.”

Expect to see more of this guy.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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