Surfing originated in which country

Surfing was discovered in the Polynesian islands in , but historians say that people there have been participating in the sport for centuries. After it was discovered, missionaries discouraged it amongst the locals because they believed it was sinful.

However, surfing remained an integral part of Polynesian culture, and it grew in popularity because of innovators like Duke Kahanamoku, who taught visitors how to surf and was an Olympic medalist in swimming. Popularity began to grow in the s when the first World Surfing Championship was held in Manly, Australia.

About 65, people were in attendance, and that number grew to 80, three years later when the championship was held in San Diego. Today, surfing is an activity of leisure and competition because of the Polynesians. They innovated the sport in a way where it was accessible to all social classes, and as a result, many people can enjoy participating in it all around the world. Previous Next. Surfing History What is the history of Surfing? Table of Contents. Country of Origin Although it is not clear what country started surfing, historians believe it originated in the Polynesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Inventor of Sufing The inventor of surfing is not known, but the father of modern surfing was Duke Kahanamoku. Popularity Surfing became popular right after the first championship in Australia. From a population of almost 1 million individuals, guns, germs, and steel took its toll leaving fewer than 40, remaining by the end of the s.

By , after the overthrow of the native Monarchy, surfing sat hanging by a thread with Hawaiian culture. A previously spiritual practice which was ruled by a fierce code of conduct somehow stayed afloat despite the mob of missionaries seeking to sink it. With the loss of its monarch, indigenous Hawaiians saw some reclamation of their culture and surfing began to return.

In the early s surfing had already started to leave Hawaii with the illustrious Duke Kahanamoku and lesser-known George Freeth. Spreading surfing to North America and Australia resulted in many transplanted pilgrims hoping to learn to surf in Hawaii. Alexander Hume Ford was one such transplant originally from the United States. He quickly rose to be a surf champion who had big plans for surfing. Ford was hoping that the spread of surfing would inspire further colonisation of the Hawaiian islands by white European settlers.

As a result of the new display of surfing across the globe, surfing quickly grew by popular demand. Surfing continues to change and evolve as the sport spreads across the globe. In , surfing will be an official Olympic sport all going to plan despite the obvious postponement from , a year we all most likely would like to move on from.

Whatever changes may come our way, we can still expect surfing to be a sport that embraces a love of the ocean. So where does surfing go from here? With potential for sea levels to rise, we may see the formation of urban surf breaks in areas that were once plentiful with ocean surf? Alternately, we may see an increase in a push for more sustainable surf products and solutions to the accumulation of plastics. Written by Scott Shepherd. While we can only make estimates about when the first human put a piece of wood in the water and rode the waves, we do know a lot about how the board was used.

Many stories say that the selection of a chief in a Polynesian tribe was based on who could surf the best. To summarize, we can infer that the sport is as old as the 12th century maybe older , but it was definitely in full swing within Polynesian culture by the 18th century.

From there, it would go from being a high-stakes test of athletic prowess to the chill, carefree sport we know as surfing today. Ancient Polynesia is the undisputed birthplace of surfing, and nowhere is this story more prominent than the islands of Hawaii.

However, this was later debunked because these watercraft more closely resemble stand up paddleboards than surfboards. Other evidence in favor of this has to do with their cultural ties to the sport. If you have ever spent a day paddling out on a board, you know that it can be an exhausting endurance test. So it comes as no surprise that Polynesian warriors used it as a means of fitness training.

Because surfing requires so much fitness and strength, it was also used as the way to determine who would serve as chief in primitive Hawaiian tribes. These days athletes surf for fun, bragging rights, or professional sponsorship.

Back then, you could have been made a ruler if you managed to prove yourself. Since we have no way of knowing exactly when the first attempted surf session was, we are also in the dark about who had the idea in the first place. While our information about the first surfer is limited, we can do the next best thing and follow history to see who brought the sport to life.

When European settlers first came to Hawaii, surfing lost a lot of its edge. Hawaiian locals were steered away from surfing, and the Christian settlers shunned it entirely. Still, surfing was such an essential part of Hawaiian culture that people never stopped doing it entirely.

Around the end of the 19th century, tourism began to develop, and surfing started to make a huge comeback. People from all over the world started to notice how awesome surfing is, and this was fantastic for Hawaiian tourism. One of the most prominent early players in modern surfing was Duke Kahanamoku. From California to Australia, he traveled, surfed, and caught the eyes of thousands of eager spectators. He single-handedly popularized the Hawaiian surf tradition. Thanks to his enthusiasm and athleticism, the sport gained more attention than ever before.

In hindsight, it seems like a strange question to ask. How could something as amazing as surfing not be popular!? Once surfing starting to emerge as a sport, there were a few key factors that made it into a global hit. Due to the oppression that European settlers imposed on the Hawaiians, surfing was heavily discouraged during the 19th century.

Still, it never entirely died out, and people continued to do it. Hawaiian tourism starting to pick up in the late s, and lots of people traveled to the islands to take a crack at surfing. As interest in surfing increased, notable authors like Jack London and Mark Twain even gave it a try. As surfing superstars started to emerge over the years, it became a professional sport around Once the wave of interest in surfing picked up, it became an unstoppable sensation.

Throughout the s, surfing continued to become increasingly huge thanks to media exposure. Bands like The Beach Boys lent their unique sound to writing music that was all about surf, sun, and spreading the good vibes that surfing is so well-known for.

This popularity did a lot to help the growth of the West Coast surf scene, and it also made Americans even more fascinated with Hawaii.

After Hawaii became a state in , the tourists came in waves pun strongly intended to ride the swells off the Hawaiian coast. From there, things continued to grow correspondingly.

Surfing is now popular all over the world, and it is done anywhere people can catch a decent wave. Hundreds of tourists still flock to Hawaii each year to get a piece of the surf action in the part of the world where it was created.

It is no surprise that the first surfers came from a society that had a robust connection to the water.