Back in 2016 when the IOC announced that surfing would become an Olympic sport, there was barely a surf culture in China, let alone a national surfing team. Fast forward to 2024, and China will be sending Yang Siqi, its first ever Olympic surfer, to Teahupo’o, Tahiti to compete in the Paris Olympic Games.
Yang and other young surfers are part of China’s National Surf Academy, where the government is training its first generation of surfers in hopes of securing another Olympic gold. The documentary Surf Nation, which premiered last Thursday on World Channel, follows two young surfers as they navigate a new Chinese sport and the life that comes alongside it.
This clash between the free-spirited, hair in the wind, without a care in the world lifestyle typically associated with surfing, and the regimented nature of Chinese national sports teams lie at the heart of this film. The security and structure provided by national academies is a refuge for young athletes seeking a future in sports, yet in this pursuit of Olympic gold they must also confront their private ambitions for freedom and bigger waves.
This tension also makes for gripping coming-of-age stories about two surfers in particular, Alex and Lolo. Filming over the span of two years, directors Jessica Q. Chen and Jeremiah M. Bogert, Jr. followed the surfers’ lives as they unfolded against the backdrop of mounting pressure.
Alex is the best surfer in China, who dreams of competing amongst the world’s best surfers at the World Surf League Championship Tour. He is known for his confidence and rebellious streak, and sometimes pushes against the national training camps and their leaders. For one, Alex has no interest in the Olympics, a goal that officials are intent on pushing the surfers to focus on.
Lolo is in search of a different, non-traditional life. She gave up going to university or having an office job, and joined the national team for the surf lifestyle — which she eventually abandoned too. In the film, she debates whether or not to marry her controlling fiancé, showing an intimate side to her pursuit of freedom.
While the film is about surfing in China, it’s ultimately a story about young people in China finding the courage to chase after what matters to them, and forging their own paths against the tracks laid out by previous generations.
Surf Nation is now available to view on World Channel and Youtube.
Banner image courtesy Surf Nation.
