Surfing

Surfing is a sport in which people stand on boards and ride waves.

Understand


The Moche of Peru would often surf on reed craft, while the native peoples of the Pacific surfed waves on alaia, paipo, and other such water craft. Ancient cultures often surfed on their belly and knees, while the modern-day definition of surfing most often refers to a surfer riding a wave standing on a surfboard; this is also referred to as stand-up surfing.

Surfing appears to have been introduced to the developed world in 1885, when three teenage Hawaiian princes attending a boarding school in California surfed the mouth of the San Lorenzo River on custom-shaped redwood boards. It was popularized by land baron Henry E. Huntington who had seen boys in Hawai'i surfing the island waves. He brought surfing to the California coast by hiring a young Hawaiian to ride surfboards. Huntington wanted to entice visitors to the area of Redondo Beach, where he had heavily invested in real estate.

Learn
Many popular surfing destinations have surf schools and surf camps that offer lessons. Surf camps for beginners and intermediates are multi-day lessons that focus on surfing fundamentals. They are designed to take new surfers and help them become proficient riders. All-inclusive surf camps offer overnight accommodations, meals, lessons and surfboards.

Most surf lessons begin with instruction and a safety briefing on land, followed by instructors helping students into waves on longboards or "softboards". The softboard is considered the ideal surfboard for learning because it is safer, and has more paddling speed and stability than shorter boards. Funboards are also a popular shape for beginners as they combine the volume and stability of the longboard with the manageable size of a smaller surfboard. New and inexperienced surfers typically learn to catch waves on softboards around the 210 to 240 cm (7 to 8 ft) funboard size. The chance of getting injured is substantially reduced by softboards.

Typical surfing instruction is best-performed one-on-one, but can also be done in a group setting. The most popular surf locations offer perfect surfing conditions for beginners, as well as challenging breaks for advanced students. The ideal conditions for learning would be small waves that crumble and break softly, as opposed to the steep, fast-peeling waves desired by more experienced surfers. When available, a sandy seabed is generally safer.

Surfing can be broken into several skills: paddling strength, positioning to catch the wave, timing, and balance. Paddling out requires strength, but also the mastery of techniques to break through oncoming waves (duck diving, eskimo roll also known as turtle). Take-off positioning requires experience at predicting the wave set and where it will break. The surfer must pop up quickly as soon as the wave starts pushing the board forward. Preferred positioning on the wave is determined by experience at reading wave features including where the wave is breaking. Balance plays a crucial role in standing on a surfboard. Thus, balance training exercises are good preparation. Practicing with a balance board, longboard (skateboard) or swing board helps novices learn to surf.

The repetitive cycle of paddling, popping up, and balancing requires stamina and physical strength. Having a proper warm-up routine can help prevent injuries.

Australia
Surfing underpins an important part of the Australian coastal fabric. It forms part of a lifestyle in which millions participate and in which millions more have an interest. Virtually every coastline, except along the top end from Cairns across to Karatha, has surf and surfers there to ride it.

Canada
Surfing on James Bay is possible but difficult; the area is remote and the water cold. The easiest access is by train to Moosonee, Ontario; for the Quebec side of the bay, see Baie-James.

Indonesia
See: Surfing in Indonesia