Dog surfing is a type of surfing maneuver involving dogs that are trained to surf on surfboards, bodyboards, skimboards, windsurf boards or to bodysurf. Historically, surfing dogs have been documented as occurring as early as the 1920s in the United States. Competitions and exhibitions that feature surfing dogs have occurred in various coastal areas of the United States, [1] [2] [3] such as Del Mar, California, [4] Imperial Beach, California and Jupiter, Florida. [2]
Dog surfing involves dogs that are trained to surf on surfboards or bodyboards, [5] either alone [1] [6] or with a human on the board. [7] Some dogs have been trained to ride a skimboard on the shore (after the board is initially skimmed by a human) and to windsurf with a human, [8] and bodysurfing dogs have also been documented in surfing media. [5]
Dog surfing has been documented as occurring in the 1920s in California and Hawaii. [9] In the 1930s, a silent film titled On The Waves in Waikiki depicts Phillip K. Auna and Night Hawk, his terrier, surfing together on a wooden surfboard in Hawaii. [10] The terrier was able to perform the hang ten surfing maneuver on the surfboard. [10] In 1944, a full page image of a surfing dog named "Rusty" was published in National Geographic magazine. [5] In the 1950s, UPI published a photograph of Joseph "Scooter Boy" Kaopuiki and his dog Sandy surfing in Hawaii, which was published in newspapers throughout the United States. [5] During this time, they were also reported about on the television show You Asked For It!. [5] Dave Chalmers and his surfing terrier mix named Max, both from San Diego, California, were featured in several forms of media in the late 1970s through the 1980s, including surf movies and a television appearance on the show Amazing Animals. [5]
A Labrador Retriever named Cam was documented in Honolulu, Hawaii surfing partially lying down while simultaneously drinking from a bottle of beer. [5]
In dog surfing competitions, judging criteria may include the dog's overall certainty on the board, wave size and ride length. [11]
The Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competition at Imperial Beach in California has been described as the largest dog surfing competition in the United States. [12] The first competition was held in 2006. [9] In 2011, over fifty dogs participated, [13] and the competition categorized entries by small dogs, large dogs and tandem dogs. [14] Tandem surfing involves two or more dogs surfing together on one surfboard, or a dog surfing with a human. [15] In June 2012, fifty dogs participated, and three Guinness World Records were broken, including a new record of eighteen for the most dogs photographed on a surfboard. [16] The Imperial Beach Dog Surf Competition is also a fundraiser event for the San Diego Humane Society. [17]
An annual dog surfing competition titled "Surf City Surf Dog competition" is held in Huntington Beach, California in late September. [18] The first competition occurred in October 2009. [19] The event is free to attend. [20] Besides the surf competitions, visitors can enjoy the surFUR expo. [21]
In 2012, the Incredible Dog Challenge dog surfing competition was held in San Diego, California.[ citation needed ]
Since 2012, the Noosa Festival of Surfing held each March in the Shire of Noosa has played host to the Surfing Dog Championship sponsored by local business VetShopAustralia.com.au. The event was formerly known as the Surfing Dog Spectacular and was renamed the Surfing Dog Championships in 2017 in recognition of the increased calibre of participants. The Noosa Surfing Dog Championships is an invitational event, where dogs and humans work together on stand up paddle boards (SUPs) with the prize chosen by surfing legends such as Layne Beachley, and given to the dog/person combination that catches the best wave. [22] [23]
The winner of the 2021 event, was a Pug called Pickles, surfing with Dan Bleicher. [22] The 2022 event is slated for Saturday, 5 March at 2:30pm. [22]
In July 2013, the Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Wellington, Florida presented its first "Surfs Up, Dogs" competition as a fundraiser for the non-profit organization. [24] The competition was held in Jupiter, Florida. [2]
The World Dog Surfing Championships, a Northern California event, have been held at Pacifica, California since 2016. [25]
In September, 2019 , "SUP for Pups Intracoastal Challenge", a competitive 5K event took place at Pioneer Park in Deerfield Beach, Florida. [26] [27]
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer, 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.
Bodyboarding is a water sport in which the surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore. Bodyboarding is also referred to as Boogieboarding due to the invention of the "Boogie Board" by Tom Morey in 1971. The average bodyboard consists of a short, rectangular piece of hydrodynamic foam. Bodyboarders typically use swim fins for additional propulsion and control while riding a breaking wave.
Bodysurfing is the art and sport of riding a wave without the assistance of any buoyant device such as a surfboard or bodyboard. Bodysurfers often equip themselves with a pair of swimfins that aid propulsion and help the bodysurfer catch, ride and kick out of waves. Some bodysurfers also use a wooden or foam handplane, which helps to get one's chest out of the water to reduce drag, this is known as handplaning and is an offshoot of bodysurfing.
Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49.
Skimboarding or skimming is a boardsport in which a skimboard is used to glide across the water's surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and ride it back to shore. There are currently 3 U.S. based competitive organizations including Premier Skim, Skim USA, and the United Skim Tour. Wave-riding skimboarders perform a variety of surface and air maneuvers, at various stages of their ride, out to, and back with, the wave. Some of these are known as "wraps", "big spins", "360 shove-its" and "180s". Unlike surfing, skimboarding begins on the beach by dropping the board onto the thin wash of previous waves. Skimboarders use their momentum to skim out to breaking waves, which they then catch back into shore in a manner similar to surfing.
A rash guard, also known as rash vest or rashie, is an athletic shirt made of spandex and nylon or polyester. The name rash guard reflects the fact that the shirt protects the wearer against rashes caused by abrasion, or by sunburn from extended exposure to the sun, as sun protective clothing.
Tom Hugh Morey, also known by the moniker "Y", was a musician, engineer, surfboard shaper, and surfer responsible for several technological innovations that have heavily influenced modern developments in surfing equipment design.
Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish and evolve in the early 20th century, with its popularity peaking during the 1950s and 1960s. It has affected music, fashion, literature, film, art, and youth jargon in popular culture. The number of surfers throughout the world continues to increase as the culture spreads.
Isabel Ramsay Letham was an Australian pioneer surfboard rider and swimming instructor, renowned as 'the first Australian to ride a surfboard'. A probably erroneous story has been repeated for years that on 10 January 1915 at Freshwater Beach, Sydney she experimented riding a board in the Hawaiian tradition in tandem with Duke Kahanamoku. This story has been disputed by researchers who have investigated its roots and provenance, and the reality is probably that she did not do so until shortly after, at Dee Why beach in Sydney, on 6 February 1915.
The Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic (PBC) is a bodysurfing competition held annually during the winter season at the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore of the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
The riding of waves has likely existed since humans began swimming in the ocean. In this sense, bodysurfing is the oldest type of wave-catching. Undoubtedly ancient sailors learned how to ride wave energy on many styles of early boats. Archaeological evidence even suggests that ancient cultures of Peru surfed on reed watercraft for fishing and recreation up to five thousand years ago. However, standing up on what is now called a surfboard is a relatively recent innovation developed by the Polynesians. The influences for modern surfing can be directly traced to the surfers of pre-contact Hawaii.
The Noosa Festival of Surfing was established in 1992 at Noosa, Queensland by members of the Noosa Malibu Club, as an amateur surfing competition called the Noosa Malibu Classic. It allowed club members to invite friends to surf Noosa's right-hand point breaks and the event's popularity among competitive longboarders gave the club a chance to take the event to a higher level. In 1996 a professional division was introduced and prompted the name change to The Noosa Festival of Surfing (NFoS) in 1998. The World Tandem Surfing Championships were brought to Noosa in 1999 and Stand up paddle surfing was incorporated into the festival in 2007 with live entertainment and fundraising auctions also being held. In 2008, the festival, sponsored by Global Surf Industries and maintained and managed by USM Events, commenced with the traditional Mixing of the Waters ceremony led by Hawaiian waterman Brian Keaulana. The Noosa Festival of Surfing is an official Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Longboard rated event.
The Loews Coronado Bay Resort surf dog competition is an annual event held yearly since 2006 in Imperial Beach, California. In 2014, the name of the event was changed to Unleashed by Petco Surf Dog Competition.
Bellyboarding is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore.
Surfing in the United States is a popular hobby in coastal areas, and more recently due to the invention of wave pools, inland regions of the country. It contributes to a lifestyle and culture in which millions participate and which millions more have an interest. USA surfing is the governing body for the sport of surfing in the United States, with surf leagues such as the World Surf League available in the country. Surfing can be traced back to 17th Century Hawaii and has evolved over time into the professional sport it is today, with surfing being included for the first time in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Ricochet was a female Golden Retriever dog from San Diego. She was one of the original surfing dogs that started the whole dog surfing circuit. She entered her first surf dog competition when she was 15 months old. She was a competitive surfing dog for several years and typically placed in one of the top three spots of competitions.
Horse surfing is an extreme sport invented in 2005. It requires two people, a horse, and a board. Horse surfing involves one person riding either a kite-board, surfboard, wake-board, or skim-board, while being towed behind a horse, ridden by a second person, through shallow water, at speeds up to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). After originating in England the first official horse surfing competition was held in 2006 in La Baule, France, and over the last 14 years the sport has continued to spread internationally. Today there are several international competitions with globally established rules and categories.
The Noosa Surfing Dog Championship, officially called the VetShopAustralia Surfing Dog Championships, is an annual dog surfing contest held in Noosa, Australia as part of the Noosa Festival of Surfing. It was founded in 2012 and is organized by online retailer, VetShopAustralia.
