 Logo of World Surfing Reserves program | |
| Formation | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Founder |
|
| Purpose | Protect exceptional surf spots |
Parent organization | Save the Waves Coalition |
World Surfing Reserves (WSR) is a program launched in 2009 by the non-governmental organization Save the Waves Coalition aimed at protecting global surf habitats. The program proactively identifies, designates and enshrines international waves, surf zones and surrounding environments, protecting them from the threat of development. [1] [2]
The idea to protect surf spots originally came from to one of the cofounders of the program, the National Surfing Reserves (NSR) in Australia. After four years of naming surf spots in Australia, NSR partnered with the NGO Save the Waves Coalition and launched the World Surfing Reserves to go international with their protection program. Professional big-wave surfer Joao de Macedo is also a co-founder of the program. It was officially launched at the Value of Waves Roundtable held in Half Moon Bay, California. [3]
There are currently twelve surfing reserves across the world. [4] World Surfing Reserves are nominated through a selection process and there are currently dozens of proposed WSRs covering nearly every continent on the planet. The dates indicated the commencement of the commitment by the local and international communities to protect and preserve Malibu as an iconic surf site.
| Nb | Country | Location | Since | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA | Malibu Surfrider Beach | 9 October 2010 | 1st World Surfing Reserve site. [5] |
| 2 | Portugal | Ericeira | 14 October 2011 [6] | 4 km stretch, 7 surf spots (including Ribeira d’Ilhas and Coxos), recognized for its high density of surf breaks, wave quality, and unique environment. [7] |
| 3 | Australia | Freshwater Beach | 10 March 2012 | 4 km stretch, declared the "Manly-Freshwater World Surfing Reserve", inaugurated by Kelly Slater and Marie Bashir (governor of New South Wales). [8] |
| 4 | USA | Santa Cruz, California | 27–28 April 2012 | Inaugurated by Pat O'Neil (O'Neill wetsuits). [9] |
| 5 | Peru | Huanchaco beach, Trujillo | 26 October 2013 [10] [11] | The surf spot is famous for the caballitos de totora. [12] |
| 6 | Mexico | Todos Santos Islands | 20 June 2014 | stretch from Salsipuedes to El Sauzal. [13] |
| 8 | Australia | Gold Coast | 8 March 2016 | 16 km stretch from Burleigh to Snapper Rocks. [14] |
| 9 | Brazil | Guarda do Embaú | 28 October 2019 | World-class wave that breaks consistently year-round. [4] [15] |
| 10 | Chile | Punta de Lobos | 20 November 2017 | WSR purchased the Mirador Property at the tip of the Punta de Lobos to protect this area. [16] |
| 11 | Australia | Noosa Beach | 20 November 2017 | 4 km stretch [17] |
| 12 | United Kingdom | North Devon | January 2022 | Encompasses 30 km of coastline and includes some outstanding surfing locations like Croyde, Saunton, and Woolacombe. [18] |
The mission of the World Surfing Reserves (WSR) program is to gain international recognition and support for wave and coastal protection around the world by creating a global network of designated surfing reserves. WSR also recognizes environmental, social, cultural and economic benefits of waves. [19] WSR was created in conjunction with National Surfing Reserves Australia, [20] and has established partnerships with the International Surfing Association (ISA), and Stanford University's Center for Responsible Travel (CREST). [21] WSR is also affiliated with the Surf Conservation Partnership led by Conservation International. [22]
In August 2009, WSR called for nominations from all national surfing federations. [23] More than 150 sites were nominated from 34 countries. WSR eventually plans to induct 30-40 surf breaks around the world. The program has gained a substantial amount of positive feedback and support from the sport's leaders, including Kelly Slater. [24]
World Surfing Reserves is led by an international executive committee and vision council. It is the responsibility of these groups to govern the program and make the final wave selections. For a specific surf site to enter WSR, the region must have exceptional and consistent surf, along with a rich history and culture of surfing, as well as strong community support.
Vision Council
Fernando Aguerre, Will Henry, Jim Moriarty, Tony Butt, Terry Gibson, Len Materman, Miles Walsh, Wallace J. Nichols, Steve Hawk, Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew, Tiago Pires, Greg Long, Mark Massara, Chris LaFrankie, Chad Nelsen, Neil Lazarow, Brad Farmer, Manolo Lozano, Juca De Barros, Drew Kampion, Professor Andy Short, Professor Ben Finney.
Executive Committee
Professor Andy Short, Brad Farmer, Drew Kampion, Will Henry, Dean LaTourrette. [25]
Save the Waves Coalition also created a Google Earth WSR plug-in [26] that allows organizations and individuals to view nominated sites around the world. The plug-in allows users to learn about a nominated wave's history, location, environmental characteristics and surf culture. [27]
Noosa National Park is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 121 km north of Brisbane. It is situated near Noosa Heads between the Pacific Ocean and the Sunshine Coast's northern area of urban development and extends southwards, past Lake Weyba to Coolum.
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.
Ericeira is a civil parish and seaside community on the western coast of Portugal considered the surfing capital of Europe. It is also one of only two European spots among the World Surfing Reserves because of its exceptional coastline conditions. Ericeira's population in 2011 was estimated in 10,260, covering an area of 12 km2.
A leg rope or surfboard leash is a urethane cord attached to the deck of a surfboard, down near the tail. It prevents the surfboard from being swept away by waves and stops runaway surfboards from hitting other surfers and swimmers. Modern leashes consist of a urethane cord where one end has a band with a velcro strap attached to the surfer's trailing foot, and the opposite has a velcro strap attached to the tail end of the surfboard. Should the surfer fall while riding a wave, the surfboard will not be swept away, thus allowing the surfer to quickly recover his surfboard and return to the take-off zone.
Wildcoast is an international non-profit environmental organization that conserves coastal and marine ecosystems and wildlife.
Greg Noll was an American pioneer of big wave surfing and a prominent longboard shaper. Nicknamed "Da Bull" by Phil Edwards in reference to his physique and way of charging down the face of a wave, he was on the U.S. lifeguard team that introduced Malibu boards to Australia around the time of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He produced a "legendary" series of five Search for Surf films.
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.
The Surfrider Foundation USA is a U.S. 501(c)(3) grassroots non-profit environmental organization that works to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves and beaches. It focuses on water quality, beach access, beach and surf spot preservation, and sustaining marine and coastal ecosystems.
Huanchaco is a popular seaside resort city in province of Trujillo, Peru. Huanchaco is known for its surf breaks, its caballitos de totora and its ceviche, and is near the ancient ruins of Chan Chan. Huanchaco was approved as a World Surfing Reserve by the organization Save The Waves Coalition in 2012 This historic town is part of the tourist circuit called the "Moche Route" or "Ruta Moche".
Malibu Lagoon State Beach in Malibu, California, United States, is also known as Surfrider Beach. It was dedicated as the first World Surfing Reserve on October 9, 2010. The 110-acre (45 ha) site was established as a California state park in 1951. It lies within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
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.
Caballitos de totora are reed watercraft used by fishermen in Peru for the past 3000 years, archaeologically evidenced from pottery shards. Named for the way they are ridden, straddled, fishermen use them to transport their nets and collect fish in their inner cavity. The name is not the original name, as horses were not introduced to South America until after the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. The ancient Mochica name of the watercraft is tūp. They are made from the same reed, the totora, used by the Uru people on Lake Titicaca, and considered part of the Peruvian's National Cultural Heritage since 2016.
Punta de Lobos is a Chilean town, administratively part of the commune of Pichilemu, whose urban centre is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north), in the Cardenal Caro Province, O'Higgins Region.
Australia's National Reserve System (NRS) is a network of more than 10,000 Commonwealth plus state and territory protected areas which, in combination, on a national scale, protect more than 137 million hectares, greater than 17% of the continent, of unique biodiversity and most significant ecological landscapes for future generations. The aim of the NRS is protect the diversity of all native landscapes, flora and fauna across Australia through strategic habitat protection. It consists of public, indigenous and privately protected areas of land and inland freshwaters.
Angourie Point is a surf break in the small township of Yamba on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Angourie Point is an exposed point break that has consistent surf, and surf offshore winds are from the southwest. Groundswells and wind swells are good and the best swell direction is from the east or south east.
Mark Robert Visser is an Australian professional big wave surfer, author, keynote speaker and ocean adventurer. Visser is best known for being the first person to surf Hawaii's most dangerous wave Jaws, Maui, at night in 2011. It was documented in a film called 'Night Rider'.
Noosa Biosphere Reserve is an internationally protected area covering the region of Noosa in Queensland, Australia. It is formally recognised as a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program for its highly diverse ecosystem over a relatively small space. It was the first Biosphere Reserve for the state of Queensland, established in September 2007. The reserve is bound by the Noosa Shire Council boundaries, extending offshore by 3 kilometres (1.9 mi), covering 150,000 hectares in total. It is governed by Noosa Biosphere Limited (NBL), a not-for-profit company, which mainly consists of members from the local community who fulfil roles in the governance board, sector boards, and partnerships. Community plays a significant role in the implementation of the Biosphere Reserve guidelines.
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.
The Malibu Historic District is a 160-acre (65 ha) area that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles County, California on January 29, 2018. The approximate area of the district is along the Pacific Coast Highway from east of the Malibu Pier to the Malibu Colony privacy fence. Malibu was ground zero for California's surf culture, and was designated the first World Surfing Reserve by the Save the Whales Coalition in 2010. For its role in the cultural popularity of the surfing sport, and its subsequent technological influence on the surfboard evolution and efficiency, the period of the NRHP designation significance is 1945–1959.