The Ultimate Surfer Rides the Waves on ABC

Surf’s up on a unique new reality competition

In addition to some sweet aerials and duck dives, viewers of ABC’s The Ultimate Surfer will also become well-acquainted with a state-of-the-art surfing facility that produces the perfect wave each time. So perfect, in fact, one might say they’re tubular.

Premiering across two nights this week, the eight-episode competition brings together 14 up-and-coming male and female surfers to train and live together at the World Surf League’s Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California. There will be gamesmanship in and out of the water as they compete individually and in teams in specific surfing disciplines, while also forming alliances and rivalries, with all the backstabbing and psychological games that may imply. Think Survivor, but with surfboards.

In the end, one man and one woman will emerge with the title of Ultimate Surfer and the opportunity to compete on the elite WSL Championship Tour, the sport’s pinnacle. Canadian NFL-er turned Bachelor star turned all-round TV personality Jesse Palmer serves as host alongside commentators Erin Coscarelli and Joe Turpel, with Kelly Slater, a champion surfer who developed the Ranch’s surf tech, as a special correspondent.

“This is one of the most unique and incredible places I’ve ever been,” says Palmer of the facility, situated in Central California. “And it’s essentially manmade waves using this unbelievable technology that provides the perfect, consistent wave each and every time.”

“The pool itself [is] about seven football fields,” he continues. “The wave runs for 45 seconds. The water is like glass. They can control the size of the wave, be it from three feet to six feet, and they wait from three to four minutes in between waves to make sure that the water is settled and calm before they run the next wave. It is the exact same wave every single time and it is absolutely perfect.”

So the playing field, so to speak, is level for these 14 athletes as they seek to prove their surfing mastery. They’re a mix of pros and amateurs who hail from coastal areas such as Florida, California, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. And some, like Zeke Lau, have been on the Tour before.

They’ll face challenges such as combo turns, carves, tube rides and even surfing at night, which most surfers won’t dare try out in the ocean.

“It’s just not safe,” Palmer says with a laugh, “but obviously this environment allows for that, where it is perfectly safe. But it’s just a totally different environment these surfers have to deal with, and seeing how they do that is really interesting.”

The Ultimate Surfer airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC