Surfing is considered an extremely popular sport, which both female and male athletes and amateurs participate in. If you don’t know how to surf, it is still fun to watch and it’s impressive to watch those individuals who really know how to ride the waves. It’s certainly fascinating for both the surfers and those who are just spectators, but when and where did surfing start?
It is believed that the sport originated in the Polynesian islands over 3,000 years ago. Originally surfing wasn’t a sport at all, but rather an efficient way for fisherman to bring their catch into land. What was once a daily chore, soon turned into a favorite past-time. The ancient Hawaiians described surfing as “he’e nalu” which means “wave-sliding”. They believed the sea had an attached persona, which would reflect their emotions. The sport also served as a training exercise to keep them in top physical shape. It even served as a way of resolving conflicts over wealth, pride and romance.
With the arrival of Captain Cook, the sport soon became less popular as the white men stripped the natives of their superstitious and spiritual beliefs attached to “wave-sliding”. The sport was nearly obliterated, but somehow the Hawaiians held on to it.
In the early 1900s a new spark of interest in surfing broke out, brought about by a group of teenagers named the Beach Boys of Waikiki. Soon, what was once believed to be a sport only practiced by those of Hawaiian descent, surfing was being practiced by Caucasians in California. This is thought to be through the Irish-Hawaiian George Freeth, who earned acclaim as a promotional surfer.
It soon spread all over the Californian coast and a few years later became very popular in the Australian coast, after being introduced by Duke Kahanamoku (a famous and important figure in surf history).
Since then, people from around the world join in and compete in this sport once known as ‘wave-sliding’.