Surfing World
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What is surfing?
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an
individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on
the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually
carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are
primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found in standing waves
in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or
in wave pools. The term surfing refers to a person riding a wave using a
board, regardless of the stance. There are several types of boards. 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.
Another prominent form of surfing is body boarding, where a surfer rides
the wave on a bodyboard, either lying on their belly, drop knee (one
foot and one knee on the board), or sometimes even standing up on a body
board. Other types of surfing include knee boarding, surf matting
(riding inflatable mats) and using foils. Body surfing, in which the
wave is caught and ridden using the surfer's own body rather than a
board, is very common and is considered by some surfers to be the purest
form of surfing. The closest form of body surfing using a board is a
handboard which normally has one strap over it to fit on one hand.
Three major subdivisions within stand-up surfing are stand-up paddling,
long boarding and short boarding with several major differences
including the board design and length, the riding style and the kind of
wave that is ridden. In tow-in surfing (most often, but not exclusively,
associated with big wave surfing), a motorized water vehicle such as a
personal watercraft, tows the surfer into the wave front, helping the
surfer match a large wave's speed, which is generally a higher speed
than a self-propelled surfer can produce. Surfing-related sports such as
paddle boarding and sea kayaking that are self-propelled by hand paddles
do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as kite surfing
and windsurfing rely primarily on wind for power, yet all of these
platforms may also be used to ride waves. Recently with the use of
V-drive boats, Wakesurfing, in which one surfs on the wake of a boat,
has emerged. As of 2013, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized a
23.8 m (78 ft) wave ride by Garrett McNamara at Nazaré, Portugal as the
largest wave ever surfed.
During the winter season in the
northern hemisphere, the north shore of Oahu, the third-largest island
of Hawaii, is known for having some of the best waves in the world.
Surfers from around the world flock to beaches like Backdoor, Waimea
Bay, and Pipeline. However, there are still many popular surf spots
around the world: Teahupo'o, located off the coast of Tahiti; Mavericks,
California, United States; Cloudbreak, Tavarua Island, Fiji; Superbank,
Gold Coast, Australia.
In 2016 surfing was added by the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an Olympic sport to begin at
the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.The first gold medalists of the Tokyo
2020 surfing men and women's competitions were, respectively, the
Brazilian Ítalo Ferreira and the American from Hawaii, Carissa Moore.
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