Feature: Surfing

EVERYBODY’S GONE SURFIN’, surfin’ UK? The Beach Boys classic doesn’t have quite the same effect when the home of surfing, the USA is replaced with the UK. When you picture surfing Britain doesn’t exactly spring to mind; no golden coastlines, no glistening ocean and certainly no hot weather. In its place are beaches lined with fish and chip shops, deck chairs and more often than not a cloudy day.

Football, rugby and cricket make up the backbone of British sports. All traditional, public boy creations that have evolved over time and become part of British cultural life. Surfing does not come into contention. Yet, perhaps this is the fundamental reason for its appeal. It is not traditional, not popular, not a team game, instead it is alternative, individualistic, counter-cultural and anti-institutionalised. You do not surf on the safety of the ground. Instead you are bound to the water and its undeterminable forces.

Surfing is not packaged to suit a wide audience. Unlike traditional sports, surfing is not dominated by rules, it is non-aggressive, does not involve bodily contact, emphasises participation not spectating and it does not suffer from an overruling ‘win at all costs’ ethic. In its place there lies a sense of community, you are either a surfer or not. Its appeal lies in what its not and how it transgresses from the norm.

Most surfers do not want their lifestyle to be commercialised and sold to the world, its niche demographic suits them, and hence the whole “locals only” philosophy assumes a deeper meaning. These boundaries whether good or bad help to create a mystique around the sport. A sense of identity can be found if you are in the “gang” and exclusion if you are not.

In the world of surfing words such as “gnarly”, “sick” and “stoked” replace tired Standard English. You are likely to be found out as a pretender though if you say, “hang two” instead of “hang ten” (for those totally alien to surfing, a hang ten is riding on a long board with both feet on the nose of the board.)

While surfing is a niche in the sporting market there has been an increase in interest in extreme sports of late. The vans warped tour; a festival of extreme sports, music and marketing is an example of this. Matt Pruett argues that “All the money in the world isn't going to ever change the fundamental essence of surfing: board---rider---wave. Everything else is obsolete.”

In an age of increasing individualism society seems to be drawn by the informality of such sports as surfing, skateboarding and mountain biking. Eldon Griffiths, Sports Minister in 1970-1974, says: “There’s been a shift from collective to individual sports because our society has become wealthier.” There are no barriers, no costs and no commitment. This suits people’s lifestyles, such sports can be participated in whenever one likes. You are not ruled by outside influences. Instead you are the ruler of your leisure time.

Surfing combines sport, fashion, music and language, and while surfing itself has failed or perhaps refused to hit the mainstream, but surf fashion certainly has not. People are consumers by nature, ask any woman on a shopping trip. Therefore it is natural to buy into an image that is getting attention. When summer hits Britain the flip-flops, board shorts and shell necklaces come out. However where are the surfboards? Matt Pruett, writer of Wavescape: Portraits of the Planet's Best Surf Spots says: “If a non-surfer buying a Rip Curl T-shirt somewhere down the line gives that company more money to turn a 3-star-rated Pipeline contest into a 4-star, and hook up three more budding professionals from South Africa, all the better for everyone.” He adds: “very few of us actually want more people in the water. The more the merrier? Not when you're dealing with limited resources like waves. “

Roxy and Quiksilver, the two major distributors in extreme sports gear have hit all time highs, yet surfing has not. Living in an image conscious society, sports, particularly surfing became integrated with fashion and music. Companies have caught onto this culture using it to their advantage to sell a lifestyle through a clothing style. So much so that Quiksilver has almost become synonymous with surfing.

But is surfing a sport. It negates from mainstream sports values and it refuses to be categorised or codified. Some refer to it as a ‘lifestyle’ some see it as ‘art’, Matt Pruett emphasises this, saying: “it still blurs the lines between sport and art like no other physical activity in the world. It's colour, dance, meditation, camaraderie, exercise, religion, meteorology, geography, fear, adrenaline and hydro physics.” The Council of Europe defines sport as: ‘Sport embraces much more than traditional team games and competition. Sport means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being.’