Programme

When the contest runs

A fourteen-day window, six competition days. Each one is confirmed the evening before, based on the state of the sea.

How it works

Waiting days

Days of competition

The organisers pick the six best days of the window according to the state of the sea.

A good day at El Frontón needs three things at once: a high tide, a long north-westerly swell and an offshore wind. When they line up, the wave breaks hollow over the shelf and the contest runs.

The criteria

Three things have to coincide

The organisers have a 14-day window from which to pick the 6 best days. A day is called the evening before, and only when tide, swell and wind line up.

±3.25h
TideMid to high waterThe reef works from mid to high tide, leaving roughly 6–7 usable hours around the peak.: ≥12s
SwellWNW–NNW · 292°–338°Outside that band the wave loses shape. From the E or SE it is unusable.: ≤12kt
WindSE–SSW · 135°–202°Offshore and light. From the N or NE it blows straight in and flattens the wave.

Waves & wind: what a perfect day looks like

Map oriented: north up

1 · Where the swell comes from

Optimal (WNW→NNW)
Fair (due N or W)
Very poor (E/SE/NE)

The lines show the orientation the wave arrives best at El Frontón, from the north-west.

2 · Where the wind blows from

Optimal (S→SE: offshore)
Fair (light cross E or W)
Very poor (N→NE: onshore)

S–SE comes off the land and cleans and orders the wave. From other directions it spoils it.

07:30 – 19:30Daylight only

Energy is height plus period: at 14 seconds or more, one metre breaks harder than two metres of short sea.

Each day is confirmed officially in the event app and on @frontonking, its Instagram account.

The event app

Know whether it's on before anyone else

The organisers confirm each day the evening before. The app tells you the moment it is decided, with the heat order and the day's forecast.

Get the alert