Reflection on The Sport of Surfing: Opinion Essay

The Sport of Surfing

I chose this as my sport topic to write about because I frequently visit different beaches because I love the ocean. When I visit beaches I see many surfers and I wanted to know more about surfing. Surfing was originated by the ancient Polynesians which makes sense being that they lived on islands surrounded by the ocean. The islanders surfed as a fun recreational activity. Surfing is very popular in nearby cities near my home in San Francisco, those cities are Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. In fact, surfing came to Northern America, on July 19, 1885 when 3 Hawaiian teenage princes who were studying at a high school in San Mateo, California, went to Santa Cruz one day to cool off from the hot weather and went surfing. Today, surfing is most popular in Hawaii and California.

One who surfs is called a Surfer or Waverider. The equipment surfers use are surf boards; the most common ones are long boards which are are between 9-10 feet, and short boards which are between 6-7 feet. Originally surfboards were made out of heavy wood and 12 feet long and now they are made out of a light fiberglass which is easier for the surfer to maneuver. Surfers also use leashes for their surfboards which prevents their surfboards from drifting away or from it hitting another surfer. They also use surf wax which the surfer waxes up their board before surfing which prevents them slipping off the board. Each surfboard also has a fin or also called a (skeg) near the tail of the board which the surfer uses to rest his foot against which also helps them not fall off the board and keeps them balanced. Surfers wear in warm climate swim shorts for men bathing suits for women, in cold weather all surfers wear wetsuits and gloves to protect them from colder weather. Sometimes surfers wear rash guard t-shirts its a personal preference but can be worn in hot weather to protect them from sunburn and in cold weather it protects them from the abrasions received by the cold water and waves hitting them. Also, eye goggles and ear plugs can also be worn to protect eyes and ears. They are now developing bright color inflatable vests to prevent surfers from drowning. Which is the number one reason that surfers die. Surfing can be a dangerous sport so they have to be very careful.

Surfing is an ocean surface sport as the surfer rides on a surfboard on a forced ocean wave that moves them towards the shoreline. As the surfer is sitting or lying on their stomach on his surfboard, and see a wave that they want to ride they start to paddle with his arms real fast then they stand up and ride the wave. The surfer’s skill here is to control their surfboard and maneuver it through challenging waves. Riding through a tube of water is the most ultimate maneuver, where the surfer is actually in a tube of water and being able to balance and stay on the board while being inside a huge tube of water. When a surfer chooses to ride a wave over 30 feet they need to use a tow-in method where a jet ski or helicopter helps in assisting them accomplish ride a gigantic wave. The popular saying ‘Hang ten’ refers to a surfer that surfs with all of their ten toes off the edge of the surfboard.

The highest top surfing competitions are the (ISA) International Surfing Association is the world governing authority for surfing and recognized by the Olympics, since surfing is an Olympic sport and the (WSL) World Surf League, the surfers that participate in these competitions are not only competing for the prize for being champions but also for money prizes up to $100,000 dollars. Their skills are judged by a panel of judges at the events. Wave scoring based on a point system for each wave they have to ride, 0-1.9 is poor, 2-3.9 is fair and 4-5.9 average, 6-7.9 is good 8-10 is excellent. the skills base these skills is also: degree of difficulty of the wave, maneuvers the surfer uses, combination of maneuvers, styles of manoeuvres surfer chooses to use, and lastly the surfer’s speed and power on the surfboard. Scoring is not based on quantity of waves the surfer does but by the quality and skills he performs. The 2019 current world champions in surfing is Isalo Ferira of Brazil for men and Carissa Moore of Hawaii for women. For me, surfing is a fun sport to watch!The Sport of Surfing

I chose this as my sport topic to write about because I frequently visit different beaches because I love the ocean. When I visit beaches I see many surfers and I wanted to know more about surfing. Surfing was originated by the ancient Polynesians which makes sense being that they lived on islands surrounded by the ocean. The islanders surfed as a fun recreational activity. Surfing is very popular in nearby cities near my home in San Francisco, those cities are Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. In fact, surfing came to Northern America, on July 19, 1885 when 3 Hawaiian teenage princes who were studying at a high school in San Mateo, California, went to Santa Cruz one day to cool off from the hot weather and went surfing. Today, surfing is most popular in Hawaii and California.

One who surfs is called a Surfer or Waverider. The equipment surfers use are surf boards; the most common ones are long boards which are are between 9-10 feet, and short boards which are between 6-7 feet. Originally surfboards were made out of heavy wood and 12 feet long and now they are made out of a light fiberglass which is easier for the surfer to maneuver. Surfers also use leashes for their surfboards which prevents their surfboards from drifting away or from it hitting another surfer. They also use surf wax which the surfer waxes up their board before surfing which prevents them slipping off the board. Each surfboard also has a fin or also called a (skeg) near the tail of the board which the surfer uses to rest his foot against which also helps them not fall off the board and keeps them balanced. Surfers wear in warm climate swim shorts for men bathing suits for women, in cold weather all surfers wear wetsuits and gloves to protect them from colder weather. Sometimes surfers wear rash guard t-shirts its a personal preference but can be worn in hot weather to protect them from sunburn and in cold weather it protects them from the abrasions received by the cold water and waves hitting them. Also, eye goggles and ear plugs can also be worn to protect eyes and ears. They are now developing bright color inflatable vests to prevent surfers from drowning. Which is the number one reason that surfers die. Surfing can be a dangerous sport so they have to be very careful.

Surfing is an ocean surface sport as the surfer rides on a surfboard on a forced ocean wave that moves them towards the shoreline. As the surfer is sitting or lying on their stomach on his surfboard, and see a wave that they want to ride they start to paddle with his arms real fast then they stand up and ride the wave. The surfer’s skill here is to control their surfboard and maneuver it through challenging waves. Riding through a tube of water is the most ultimate maneuver, where the surfer is actually in a tube of water and being able to balance and stay on the board while being inside a huge tube of water. When a surfer chooses to ride a wave over 30 feet they need to use a tow-in method where a jet ski or helicopter helps in assisting them accomplish ride a gigantic wave. The popular saying ‘Hang ten’ refers to a surfer that surfs with all of their ten toes off the edge of the surfboard.

The highest top surfing competitions are the (ISA) International Surfing Association is the world governing authority for surfing and recognized by the Olympics, since surfing is an Olympic sport and the (WSL) World Surf League, the surfers that participate in these competitions are not only competing for the prize for being champions but also for money prizes up to $100,000 dollars. Their skills are judged by a panel of judges at the events. Wave scoring based on a point system for each wave they have to ride, 0-1.9 is poor, 2-3.9 is fair and 4-5.9 average, 6-7.9 is good 8-10 is excellent. the skills base these skills is also: degree of difficulty of the wave, maneuvers the surfer uses, combination of maneuvers, styles of maneuvers surfer chooses to use, and lastly the surfer’s speed and power on the surfboard. Scoring is not based on quantity of waves the surfer does but by the quality and skills he performs. The 2019 current world champions in surfing is Isalo Ferira of Brazil for men and Carissa Moore of Hawaii for women. For me, surfing is a fun sport to watch!