SURFING

Surfing is a surface water sport that involves the participant being carried by a breaking wave.

There are multiple kinds of surfing, based on the different methods or vehicles used to ride a wave. The basic categories include regular stand-up surfing, kneeboarding, bodyboarding, surf-skiing and bodysurfing. Further sub-divisions reflect differences in surfboard design, such as long-boards versus short-boards. Tow-in surfing involves the use of motorised craft to tow the surfer onto the wave; it is associated with surfing huge waves that are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to catch by paddling alone.

Surfing's unique relationship with nature afforded it a mythic quality, which set the stage for its commercial simulation. However, there remains a vital core to the culture, which is both local and global in scope. These "hard core" members of surf culture are united in their dedication to the sport's essential practice of riding waves. A disciplined surfer will check local surf conditions at dawn when the wind is calm, having already assessed the day's prospects based upon weather reports, swell predictions, and tide tables.

When surfing conditions are ideal, social commitments can be relegated to secondary priority. In this way, surfers can be said to defy the temporal order imposed by capitalist culture. Their subculture is founded on the aesthetic appeal of naturally occurring patterns and processes. The obvious contradiction between the surfing experience and its depiction as serving commercial interests highlights the contemporary western history of separation from the natural world, its utilitarian valuation and exploitation. Through direct involvement with nature, surfers appreciate the intrinsic value of the biosphere in a way that is gaining exposure through the recognition of ecosophies, such as deep ecology and ecophenomenology.