Surfing in Australia

Last updated
CountryAustralia
Governing body Surfing Australia
National team(s) Australia
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions
Bells Beach, Victoria surfers Bells beach surfers.JPG
Bells Beach, Victoria surfers
Mick Corbett riding Cowaramup Bombora, Western Australia, 2014 Mick Corbett at Cow Bombie.jpg
Mick Corbett riding Cowaramup Bombora, Western Australia, 2014

Australia is renowned as one of the world's premier surfing destinations. [1] Surfing underpins an important part of the Australian coastal fabric. It forms part of a lifestyle in which millions participate and which millions more have an interest. [2] Australian surfboard-makers have driven innovation in surfboard design and production since the mid-1960s. The country has launched corporate giants such as Billabong, Rip Curl and Quiksilver. [3]

Contents

Bondi Beach surfers, 2000 Bondi Beach 4.JPG
Bondi Beach surfers, 2000

No surfing is possible in many parts of northern Australia due to coral reefs subduing waves. Modern surfboard design has been shaped by both Australian and Californian developments. [4] For many years the sport was closely associated with the surf life saving movement in Australia.

Governing body

Surfing Australia is the national sporting body which guides and promotes the development of surfing.

Tournaments

Major Australian tournaments include the Men's Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour, [5] Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast (Gold Coast, Queensland), Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach (Bells Beach, Victoria) and the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro (Margaret River, Western Australia). Other tournaments include the Australian Boardriders Battle, Australian Open of Surfing, Beachley Classic, Breaka Burleigh Pro and the Noosa Festival of Surfing.

History

Jeff Rowley Jeff Rowley Big Wave Surfer Western Australia by Xvolution Media - Flickr - Jeff Rowley Big Wave Surfer.jpg
Jeff Rowley
Merry Beach, New South Wales, 2013 Merry Beach surfing 06.jpg
Merry Beach, New South Wales, 2013

Surfing was brought to Australia in 1915 by Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku. [6] He demonstrated this ancient Hawaiian board riding technique at Freshwater (or Harbord) in Sydney, New South Wales. Kahanamoku's board is now on display in the northeast end of the Freshwater Surf lifesaving club, Sydney, Australia.

In the 1950s, surfing was so popular that the Australian government put laws in place in an attempt to curb surfing during working hours. The laws were removed after they resulted in more people surfing than usual.[ citation needed ]

In 1956, a team of lifeguards from the US introduced Malibu boards to Australia. [7]

In the 1960s, Australian surfboard designer Bob McTavish invented the V-bottom surfboard, which is considered instrumental to the development of shortboard surfing. [8]

Australia has produced multiple ASP world champions, [9] such as Wayne Bartholomew, Tom Carroll, Barton Lynch, Damien Hardman, Mark Occhilupo, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Stephanie Gilmore, Layne Beachley, Wendy Botha, Pauline Menczer, Chelsea Georgeson, Sally Fitzgibbons and Mark Richards. [10]

The World Surf League incorporates three major championship titles held in Australia: the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, and the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro.

One of the most successful Australian surfers, Mick Fanning, has won four titles at Bells Beach, earning him the number one spot in the surfing ranks. [11]

Culture

Duranbah Beach in northern New South Wales View south from Point Danger Lookout, Coolangatta, Queensland.jpg
Duranbah Beach in northern New South Wales

The culture of surfing has grown dramatically from just being a relaxed way of living to a mainstream sport. The progression has led to research on the health benefits of surfing. The sport promotes cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and balance. These physical benefits come from the constant paddling through the water, increasing arm and back strength whilst also increasing the heart rate. Surfing also gives one a chance to think and relax in an environment that decreases stress and relaxes the muscles. [12]

Demographics

There are approximately 2.5 million recreational surfers in Australia, 420,000 annual surf participants, 107 surf schools and 2,292 accredited surfing coaches. Over 1 in 10 Australians surf as a recreational activity.

Australian World Title holders

Men

Women

Australian surfboard shapers

Australia is a leading country in surfing and surf board design. Shaping is an important part of the innovation and progression of surfing. Australian shapers include Darren Handley who is shaper to world champions Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore. [13] Mark Richards (four times World Champion) is an Australian surfing and surfboard shaping legend who shaped his own boards during his time on the world tour. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke Kahanamoku</span> Hawaiian swimmer, surfer and actor

Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born to a minor noble family less than three years before the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He lived to see the territory's admission as a state, and became a United States citizen. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming, winning medals in 1912, 1920 and 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Slater</span> American surfer (born 1972)

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.

Rip Curl is a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of surfing sportswear and accompanying products, and a major athletic sponsor. Rip Curl has become one of the largest surfing companies in Australia, Europe, South America, North America and South Africa. Globally, Rip Curl is considered a successful member of the "Big Three", of the surf industry alongside Quiksilver and Billabong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Layne Beachley</span> Australian surfer

Layne Collette Beachley is an Australian former professional surfer from Manly, New South Wales. She won the World Championship seven times. Currently she is the chair of Surfing Australia.

Pauline Menczer is an Australian surfer. She was Women's World Champion for Professional Surfing in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Surf League</span> Governing body for professional surfers

The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional Surfing founded by Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick in 1976. IPS created the first world circuit of pro surfing events. In 1983 the Association of Surfing Pros took over management of the world circuit. In 2013, the ASP was acquired by ZoSea, backed by Paul Speaker, Terry Hardy, and Dirk Ziff. At the start of the 2015 season, the ASP changed its name to the World Surf League. Sophie Goldschmidt was appointed as WSL CEO on 19 July 2017. Paul Speaker had stepped down as CEO on 11 January 2017, and Dirk Ziff acted as the interim WSL CEO until Goldschmidt's appointment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Fanning</span> Australian surfer (born 1981)

Michael Eugene Fanning is an Australian professional surfer who was crowned champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals/World Surf League (ASP/WSL)'s World Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he survived a shark attack by what is suspected to be a great white shark during the J-Bay Open finals in Jeffreys Bay.

The Rip Curl Pro, formerly the Bells Beach Surf Classic, is a WSL World Tour surfing competition held in and around Torquay, Victoria and sponsored by surf company Rip Curl. The event is based at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia. The event winner is awarded the prestigious 'Bell' trophy. It is the longest running professional surfing competition in the world.

Stephanie Louise Gilmore is an Australian professional surfer and eight-time world champion on the Women's WSL World Tour.

The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer in Huntington Beach, California. Generally held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, the U.S. Open is part of the qualification process for the World Surf League and is a WSL QS 10,000 event. It is the largest surfing competition in the world. It has been owned by IMG since 2000.

Nathan "The Hog" Hedge is a professional surfer raised on the Northern Sydney beach of Narrabeen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carissa Moore</span> American surfer and gold medalist in the 2021 Olympics

Carissa Kainani Moore is a Hawaiian American Olympian, world champion surfer and activist. She was the first-ever winner of the Olympic Gold Medal in women's short board surfing in 2020. She was also the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2021 World Surf League WSL Women's World Tour Champion. Moore is the first surfer in history to win a WSL world title and the Olympic title in the same year. She qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Fitzgibbons</span> Australian surfer (born 1990)

Sally Fitzgibbons is an Australian professional surfer on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour (2009–2013). In June 2019, she was ranked No. 1 in the world for women's surfing after winning the Rio Pro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's surfing in Australia</span>

In 1940, a study of 314 women in New Zealand and Australia was done. Most of the women in the study were middle class, conservative, Protestant and white. The study found that 183 participated in sport. The nineteenth most popular sport that these women participated in was surfing, with 2 having played the sport. The sport was tied with cricket, mountaineering, and rowing.

Gary Elkerton, known as Kong is an Australian surfer, three time world masters champion, three time world professional runner-up, twice Hawaiian Triple Crown champion and Australian amateur champion (1984). He is regarded as an iconic big-wave rider and is highly respected by his peers for his unique, powerful surfing style. In 2009, Gary was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Wilson (surfer)</span> Australian surfer

Julian Wilson is an Australian professional surfer who competes on the World Surf League Men's World Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Medina</span> Brazilian professional surfer (born 1993)

Gabriel Medina Pinto Ferreira is a Brazilian professional surfer who won the 2014, 2018 and 2021 WSL World Championships. With 18 WSL Championship Tour (CT) event wins and 31 Final appearances under his belt, Medina is one of the most experienced surfers when it comes to producing the best surfing under pressure. Medina is second only to Kelly Slater for the most World Titles among surfers currently on the men's CT. He qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 World Surf League</span> The 43rd season of the World Surf League

The 2019 World Surf League was the competition series hosted by the World Surf League, the global championship body for competitive surfing. The 2019 World Surf League consisted of the Championship Tour, the Qualifying Series, Big Wave Tour, Longboard Tour, Junior Tour, and other specialty tours and events such as the Vans Triple Crown.

Doug Warbrick is an Australian businessman, founder of the Rip Curl brand and notable figure in the sport of surfing. Warbrick is credited for bringing the longest running surf event in history, the Bells Beach Surf Classic, to the professional surfing circuit. He is a founding member of the ASP World Tour, surf aficionado and athlete mentor.

References

  1. ↑ "Australian Geographic". Australian Geographic. 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-02-03.
  2. ↑ "About Surfing Australia". Surfing Australia. 2015.
  3. ↑ Warren, Andrew (2013). "Making things in a high-dollar Australia: The case of the surfboard industry". Journal of Australian Political Economy. 71: 26–50.
  4. ↑ Ford, Nick; David Brown (2006). Surfing and Social Theory: Experience, Embodiment and Narrative of the Dream Glide. Taylor & Francis. p. 52. ISBN   978-0415334334 . Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  5. ↑ World Surf League, World Surf League (2015-04-15). "Men's Samsung Galaxy Championship Tour". World Surf League. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  6. ↑ Wendy Lewis, Simon Balderstone and John Bowan (2006). Events That Shaped Australia. New Holland. p. 115. ISBN   978-1-74110-492-9.
  7. ↑ Vertinsky, Patricia Anne; John Bale (2004). Sites of Sport: Space, Place, Experience. Psychology Press. p. 117. ISBN   978-0714682815 . Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "History Of Surfing Innovation Part 5 - Disrupt Surfing". Disrupt Surfing. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  9. ↑ DiMartino, Jay (2015). "Australia's surfing history". about sport.
  10. ↑ "Australia's Surfing History". about sport.
  11. ↑ "Mick Fanning wins men's title at Bells Beach". ABC News. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  12. ↑ "Surfing - health benefits - Better Health Channel" . Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  13. ↑ Handley, Darren (2015). "Blog". Darren Handley Designs. © 2015 DHD Surf - Performance Surfboards. All Rights Reserved.
  14. ↑ Baker, Tim (2013). Australia's Century of Surf. North Sydney NSW: Random House Australia Pty Ltd. pp. 184–185. ISBN   978-1-74275-828-2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.