The Story Of Surfing

The Story of surfing

Wie genau Wellenreiten entstanden ist, weiss man nicht so genau. Jedenfalls ist klar, dass He`e nalu („Surfen“ auf hawaiianisch) kulturelle und religiöse Wurzeln in der polynesischen Kultur hat. Für Polynesier bedeutete der Ozean Leben, Freude und Freiheit. Bewiesen ist, dass im gesamten Südpazifik bereits lange vor dem ersten Kontakt mit Europäern auf Brettern gesurft wurde. Das Surfen prägte die Kultur nirgendwo so stark wie in Hawaii. Schon im frühen 18.

The Hawaiians were masters of surfing in the eighteenth century. In 1778, James Cook was the first European from Hawaii to report on the surfing of the natives in the South Pacific. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the first travellers came to Hawaii and admired the locals as they played with the waves. Jack London, a sought-after author and journalist at the time, was also impressed by the surfing skills of the natives. Through his stories, he brought surfing to other places in the world. Thus, the sport was taken out into the world.

Due to the interest of white tourists, Hawaiian surfers were hired to impart their knowledge of the waves to beginners and teach them how to surf. One of them was Duke Kahanamoku. He is still considered the father of modern surfing. In 1914, he was the first to surf in Australia. In the fifties and sixties, the small surfing scene turned into a real surfing boom. For the first time, the sport was commercialised. The industry realised that there was money to be made from the sport. This led to an overpopulation of the beaches. In the nineties, "new school surfing" emerged. Skateboard and snowboard tricks were transferred to surfing. These include, for example

Air jumps with integrated rotation of 180° and 360°. This is a reverse development, as these sports evolved from surfing. A co-founder of this new kind of surfing was Kelly Slater, probably still the best-known surfer today. Over a few decades, surfing reached a wide audience and surfing became an attractive sport for young people. National and international surfing events have gained increased public interest. The incredible power and beauty of the waves, but also the lifestyle and image of the surfers are reasons why the style of the surfers has been adopted by the industry and has become a popular sport. kommerzialisiert wurde.

You can find out more about surfing in Switzerland in our Community.