One week before the first athletes hit the water and concrete, Swatch Nines Surf & Skate 2026 has revealed the full course at Waco Surf, Texas — and it is built to blur the line between action sports and creative experimentation.
Running from October 8–10, the third edition of Swatch Nines Surf & Skate brings surfers, skateboarders and BMX riders into a venue where the features aren’t simply obstacles. They are designed to become part of the athletes’ lines.
That philosophy has produced what could be one of the event’s most technically ambitious setups yet.
Turning Surfing Into a Slopestyle Line
The most striking addition to the surf course comes from an idea developed during the athlete workshops.
Suspended from a giant crane, a new drop-in rail allows surfers to launch from the back wall, land onto the rail, transition into the wave and continue their run.
And that’s only the beginning.
Three rails will hang from the crane, with one stretching approximately eight metres — twice the length of the longest rail previously used at Swatch Nines.
The objective is not simply to hit a rail before surfing the wave. It is to connect multiple features into a single sequence.
Drop onto one rail. Hit the wave. Connect another feature. Turn. Finish on a third.
“rail line in surfing with two to three rails in one wave.”
Nico Zacek compared the concept to a slopestyle run, describing it as essentially a
That changes the technical challenge considerably. Rather than treating each feature as an isolated trick opportunity, surfers can now think about speed, positioning and transitions across an entire line.
The Pool Becomes a Creative Studio
The crane isn’t only there to make the surfing more difficult.
For 2026, it also becomes part of Swatch Nines‘ visual production setup through a new “Pool as a Studio” concept.
A giant mirror measuring approximately five metres across can be positioned vertically, horizontally or at a 45-degree angle, allowing photographers and filmmakers to experiment with perspectives that aren’t normally possible during an action-sports session.
The idea came with input from Coco Ho and Zoe McDougall.
Zoe also inspired a dedicated flower session, with oversized floral structures suspended above the pool alongside flares and other visual elements.
It turns the surf venue into more than a place to ride.
The course itself becomes part of the production.
The Biggest Skatepark in Swatch Nines History
The same interconnected thinking carries across to the skate and BMX setup.
The 2026 course is the biggest skatepark in Swatch Nines history, with much of its structure newly built for this edition.
At the centre is a large line featuring spines, a jump box, quarters, hips, rails and boxes. Instead of forcing athletes into one predetermined route, the layout creates multiple possibilities for linking features together.
That matters for both skateboarding and BMX.
Different athletes can approach the same structure with completely different combinations, using speed, height, transfers and technical tricks to create their own lines.
In that sense, the skatepark mirrors the philosophy behind the surf course: build the environment, then let the athletes decide what is possible.
New Faces Enter the Nines
The final roster additions include surfers Sky and Ocean Brown and Shane Borland, skateboarder Adam Hopkins and BMX rider Corey Walsh.
Four emerging athletes will also step into the Nines environment through Become A Nine: Isla Hardy, Zoee Bradshaw, Arthur Vilar and Makana Franzman.
For athletes such as 16-year-old Hardy, the opportunity is about more than simply competing alongside established names.
“I love that the Nines is a platform to be innovative and let your imagination run wild,” .
Hardy said
That idea may ultimately define this year’s event.
With athletes involved in the design process, enormous new features and a course built around creative combinations, Swatch Nines 2026 is setting up Waco Surf as a testing ground for what surfers, skaters and BMX riders can do when the environment is designed around progression rather than convention.
Swatch Nines 2026: When the Course Becomes the Playground
The action starts October 8, with the first two days streamed live through The Couch Surfing Show on YouTube.
The event’s Public Day takes place Saturday, October 10, with doors opening at noon and the Nines Public Day Show beginning at 2 PM.
For those heading to Waco Surf, the day will also feature athlete meet-and-greets, the Waco Surf Shredmill, food and drinks.
But the biggest attraction is already standing in front of them.
Rails hanging from cranes. A five-metre mirror in the pool. A record-sized skatepark. And athletes being given the freedom to connect it all.
Swatch Nines 2026 isn’t simply changing the course.
It’s changing what the course can mean.
