SURFING

sport of riding breaking waves toward the shore, especially by means of a surfboard. The sport, which originated prehistorically in the South Seas, is now enjoyed throughout the world on open-ocean coastlines with surf. Polynesian sailors were perforce required to manoeuvre through surf to land. Whether their skill at this preceded surfing, or vice versa, is not known. This early surfing was done both with a board and with the body. In 1777 and 1778 the explorer Capt. James Cook and his party first reported seeing long-board and canoe surfers in Tahiti and on Oahu, observing that the sport seemed recreational rather than competitive. In 1821, surfing was banned by European missionaries who thought it immoral and was not officially revived until 1920, when a famous Hawaiian swimmer, Duke Kahanamoku, formed the first surfing club in Waikiki. He had, however, introduced surfing to Australia in 1915. By the time of his death in 1968, the sport had achieved worldwide popularity and international competitions were being held. The best conditions for surfing occur when large, smooth ocean swells in deep water peak up into steep sets of waves, or breakers, as they encounter a shelflike reef or sandbar 90 to 900 metres offshore. Surfers also look for another type of wave, more difficult to ride, the taller, plunging dumper, which occurs with a steep rise of bottom to the beach. The lee side of a point of land or a jetty often has the proper contour for good rolling breaker waves. Under ideal conditions, as at Makaha, Hawaii, with 4-m waves, riders can surf half a mile or more. The surfer first swims with his board out beyond the crests of breaking waves to the point where the larger rollers peak up. As the wave approaches him he paddles toward shore to attain sufficient speed to coast down the face of the wave. Once the surfer, using his board, has caught the wave, he can rise first to a kneeling and then to a standing position and ride the wave until it dies out near the beach. Long-board riders hold their arms over their heads and shift their limbs, and thus their body weight, to control their speed and direction. To increase speed and distance, experts ride diagonally toward shore. Although the long, narrow board, or Malibu, from 1.83 to 2.25 m (about 7 to 7.5 feet) long, is most often associated with surfing, surfers can also surf using shorter belly boards or lightweight canoes or can bodysurf without a board by holding their bodies rigid with arms above the head. Belly-board surfers clasp the board to their chests and steer with their legs. Bodysurfers and belly-board surfers wear swim fins on their feet to make their paddling out to join the wave easier. These surfers generally enjoy their sport closer to shore and with smaller waves. The International Surfing Committee, which has headquarters in Palm Beach, Fla., U.S., was founded in 1960. It is composed of the International Amateur Surfing Federation, the International Professional Surfing Federation, and the International Surfing Foundation. Surfing world championships have been held since the early 1960s. Surfing events have been held on both coasts of North America and in Peru, Hawaii, South Africa, and Australia. In international competitions, groups of 5 to 12 competing surfers perform in the same area, each making perhaps 10 wave runs during a meet, each run scoring up to 20 points. A panel of judges awards points based on takeoff, turns, length of ride, and difficulty of wave selected. Thirteen points are awarded for a win, 10 for second, 8 for third, 7 for fourth, and one less for each succeeding place. Another system of scoring allows one point for a win and upward for succeeding places. Selection of wave and when to end the ride are at the discretion of each surfer.