Surfing is a water sport in which athletes stand on surfboards, or ride the waves with webs, kneeling boards, inflatable rubber pads, rowboats, kayaks, etc.


Originating in Hawaii, surfing made its first trip to South America in 1915. In 1962, the first World Surfing Championships were held in Manly, Australia. On December 7, 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed to include surfing as an official sport at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The highest organizing body for surfing is the World Surf League, founded in 1976.


Surfing is an ancient Polynesian culture. Their chief was the best surfer in the tribe and had the best surfboards made from the best trees. The ruling class had the best beaches and boards. The general public was not allowed access to their beaches, but people could gain these privileges by being promoted through good surfing skills.


The first European sighting of surfing was recorded by Dolphin crews in Tahiti in 1767. Lieutenant James King later wrote about the art of surfing in Captain Cook's journal at the time of Cook's death in 1779.


Surfing was life in Polynesia, just as it is in the Western world today. It influenced Polynesian society and mythology. Polynesian chieftains used their feats on the waves as a symbol of their authority.


Decades after Coker's discovery, surfing was popularized in California with the help of Duke, an American Hawaiian who won an Olympic swimming championship in 1912. It is now popular in Hawaii, North America, Peru, Australia, and South Africa, and has had world-class surfing tournaments.


Surfing is driven by waves and should be carried out on stormy shores. The height of the waves should be about 1 meter, with a minimum of no less than 30 centimetres. The Hawaiian Islands have good waves for surfing all year round. Especially in winter or spring, there are waves from the North Pacific Ocean, waves up to 4 meters high, which can make athletes glide more than 800 meters. So the Hawaiian Islands have always been the surfing centre of the world.


There are several main types of surfboards:


A Foam board is also called a teaching board, or soft board (other boards are hard boards). Made of wood foam. It is very wide and buoyant, allowing beginners to get the maximum stability of their size in the water so that they can catch waves easily and not hurt themselves.


The longboard. The length of the longboard provides very great stability and displacement (buoyancy). Compared to the shortboard, the longboard is much easier on the stroke, perfect for beginners to practice catching waves. Of course, there are also very narrow and thin little buoyant longboards for racing.


The middle plate. Between the longboard and the shortboard, the middle board takes into account stability and flexibility, paddling waves are more difficult than the longboard, but the wave is more flexible, very suitable for playing a longboard for some time to transition, and adapts to the shortboard.