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• Surfing is an ocean sport in which one rides a breaking wave while floating on its surface. A specifically-made surfboard is usually the means of riding on the wave, although there are many different variations, each with their own specific equipment.

• Fast Facts

  1. Origin: Hawaii
  2. Materials required: Surfboard, sufficiently large ocean waves
  3. Two types of boards and surfing styles: longboarding and shortboarding
  4. • Bodysurfing
  5. • Boogie boarding
  6. • Windsurfing
  7. Notable surfers: George Freeth, Duke Kahanamoku

• History

  Although its exact history is undocumented, surfing is generally understood to have been developed by Polynesian islanders as a form of entertainment that was practiced by the common- and ruling-class alike. They would practice the same techniques and modern-day surfing, but would use heavy wooden surfboards rather than today's composite material surfboards. The sport was first observed by European explorers in 1767, when crew members of the Dolphin stopped in Tahiti.

• General Process

  The rider travels out from the beach to where waves are beginning to form. When a sufficiently large wave begins to swell, the rider will hurry to properly position the board, stand up on it, and begin to slide down the face of the breaking wave. Direction is controlled through the legs and feet, and assisted by balancing the body.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  How to Surf for Beginners | Surfboard | Wakeboarding | Boating | Skiing | Wetsuits | Snowboarding | Mavericks Surf Contest | Scuba Diving | Atlantic Ocean | Indian Ocean | How to Skateboard

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