The watches will come with the World Surf League app downloaded, making it the first time an Apple Watch has been officially incorporated into a pro sport competition.

It will alert surfers of competition data that was typically missed in previous events.

Before now, the World Surf League scoring system was run entirely from the beaches.

Due to noise distractions such as heavy wind and irregular waves, surfers often found it difficult to hear announcements made via a megaphone alerting them of the scores and where they stood in the standings.

"A common note we've heard in the story of our sport is, 'I can't hear what's going on in the water'," World Surf League chief executive Erik Logan told Sports Business Journal

"We think this is going to be a transformative moment in terms of our sport, specifically being able to communicate critical data to the surfers. 

"Imagine what they had to do before they put radios, for example, in NASCAR.

"This is the equivalent."

"The only way they would know actually how much time is left in the heat is they would have an old digital watch, like a timer, and they’d look down.

"But they'd have to start it at the horn and stop at the horn.

"And sometimes the surfers didn’t start it on time.

"Sometimes they hit it, and it stopped.

"So there’ve been times surfers have been confused about how much time is left.

"So many places that we surf, they are 7, 800 yards away from [the beach] sometimes.

"And they don't know what's happening.

"So what we have seen is we can utilize this technology to really improve the field of play."

Other important information, such as who had the next wave priority or how much time remained in a heat, was also guesswork.

The Apple Watch was chosen for the job due to its claimed expansive and reliable connectivity as multiple Championship Tour events are hosted in remote locations.

The sizeable well-lit screen, its durability and water resistance capabilities have also contributed to the selection.

Some surfers trialled the watch last season and gave overwhelmingly positive feedback which finalised the choice.