History of Surfing

Ancient Surfing
Nobody knows when, or precisely where, surfing originated. John Ledyard, an American serving under explorer Captain Cook, was the first American to witness surfing in Hawaii in the late 1700s.

It was such a central part of the culture that the chief was the most skilled wave rider in the community with the best board made from the best tree. The ruling class had the best beaches and the best boards. The commoners were not allowed on their beaches, but they could gain prestige by their ability to ride the surf on their extremely heavy boards.

When the missionaries from Scotland and Germany arrived in 1821, they forbade or discouraged Hawaiian traditions and cultural practices, including leisure sports such as surfing and holua sledding. By the 20th century, surfing, along with other traditional practices, had all but disappeared. Only a small number of Hawaiians continued to practice the sport and the art of crafting boards.

Surfing in the 20th Century
At the start of the 20th century, Hawaiians living close to Waikiki began to revive surfing, possibly in protest to the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and soon re-established surfing as a sport. Duke Kahanamoku, "Ambassador of Aloha," Olympic medalist, and avid waterman, helped expose surfing to the world. Author Jack London wrote about the sport after having attempted surfing on his visit to the islands.

Surfing progressed tremendously in the 20th century, through innovations in board design and ever increasing public exposure. Surfing's development and culture was centered primarily in three locations: Hawaii, Australia, and California.

Until the 1960s, it had only a small following even in those areas. The release of the film Gidget boosted the sport's popularity immensely, moving surfing from an underground culture into a national fad and packing many surf breaks with sudden and previously unheard of crowds. B-movies and music based on surfing and Southern California beach culture (Beach Party films) as it exploded, formed most of the world's first ideas of surfing and surfers.

Though this conception was revised again in the 1980s with newer mainstream portrayals of surfers, such as Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Regardless of its usually erroneous portrayal in the media, true surfing culture continued to evolve quietly by itself, changing decade by decade. From the 1960s fad years to the creation and evolution of the short board in the late 60s and early 70s to the performance hotdogging of the neon-drentched 1980s and the epic professional surfing of the 1990s (tippified by Kelly Slater, the "Micheal Jordan of Surfing").

Surfing Documentaries have been one of the main ways in which surfing culture grows and replenishes itself, not just as a sport but as an artform, the style and quality of surf films have often tracked well the evolution of the sport.

Contemporary Surfing
Surfing continues to evolve and grow as a sport, an art, and a way of life. The evolution of board design, wave riding techniques, and the ever increasing presence of competitive surfing has kept surf culture vibrant and intact.

Though still centered primarily around Hawaii, Australia, and California, surfing has been expanded to just about anywhere there are waves, particularly Brasil, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, and France. Plus there are now notable surf communities in such diverse locations as Florida, Ireland, Alaska, Jamaica, Peru, and even the American Great Lakes.

History of surfing. (2007, February 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:57, March 15, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_surfing&oldid=111172935