Surfing has been vastly increasing in popularity, as well as in the number of participants at the recreational and competitive levels over the last decades ( Mendez-Vilanueva, & Bishop, 2005 ). Surfing is both a popular physical activity and competitive sport with world-wide participation, and the
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Marco Catarino Espada Estêvão Correia and Rachael Bertram
Philip Furley, Fanny Thrien, Johannes Klinge, and Jannik Dörr
illustrates the topic of this study: Do claims (postperformance nonverbal emotional expressions) influence people in scoring waves during surf contests? Or, stated more generally, does individual postperformance nonverbal behavior influence observers’ evaluation of the performance? Several relevant lines of
Eduardo Takeuchi, Shirley S. Lacerda, Guilherme Carlos Brech, and Elisa H. Kozasa
Surfing has gained Olympic status, and it is important to understand how its training can impact performance and what aspects should be included in it ( Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, 2020 ). As athletes, coaches, and scientists can improve the quality of sport
Rebecca Olive
-based sports. Once positioned as “youth sports,” activities like surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, parkour, and mountain biking have become increasingly visibile in mainstream media and through their inclusion in the Olympics ( Gilchrist & Wheaton, 2011 ; Wheaton & Thorpe, 2018 ). While research on each
Josh L. Secomb, Jeremy M. Sheppard, and Ben J. Dascombe
Purpose:
To provide a descriptive and quantitative time–motion analysis of surfing training with the use of global positioning system (GPS) and heart-rate (HR) technology.
Methods:
Fifteen male surfing athletes (22.1 ± 3.9 y, 175.4 ± 6.4 cm, 72.5 ± 7.7 kg) performed a 2-h surfing training session, wearing both a GPS unit and an HR monitor. An individual digital video recording was taken of the entire surfing duration. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to determine any effects of time on the physical and physiological measures.
Results:
Participants covered 6293.2 ± 1826.1 m during the 2-h surfing training session and recorded measures of average speed, HRaverage, and HRpeak as 52.4 ± 15.2 m/min, 128 ± 13 beats/min, and 171 ± 12 beats/min, respectively. Furthermore, the relative mean times spent performing paddling, sprint paddling to catch waves, stationary, wave riding, and recovery of the surfboard were 42.6% ± 9.9%, 4.1% ± 1.2%, 52.8% ± 12.4%, 2.5% ± 1.9%, and 2.1% ± 1.7%, respectively.
Conclusion:
The results demonstrate that a 2-h surfing training session is performed at a lower intensity than competitive heats. This is likely due to the onset of fatigue and a pacing strategy used by participants. Furthermore, surfing training sessions do not appear to appropriately condition surfers for competitive events. As a result, coaches working with surfing athletes should consider altering training sessions to incorporate repeated-effort sprint paddling to more effectively physically prepare surfers for competitive events.
Benjamin J. Levin and Jim Taylor
Surfers are a heterogeneous population with a common interest in riding waves. Surfers qualitatively describe the surfing sensation as a hybrid of meditative and athletic experience. Numerous empirical studies link both meditative experience and exercise with reduced incidence of depression and anxiety; this potentially suggests that surfers may endorse fewer symptoms of either disorder. One hundred surfers (N = 100) were administered the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, and a demographics questionnaire. Results indicate that surfers reported significantly fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, and employed emotion-based coping responses to stressful situations significantly less than the general populace. Surfers also employed avoidance-based coping strategies more frequently than the general populace. Future study should evaluate causal relationships between surfing and incidence of depression and anxiety.
Clare L. Minahan, Danielle J. Pirera, Beth Sheehan, Luke MacDonald, and Phillip M. Bellinger
This study compared determinants of a 30-s all-out paddling effort (30-s sprint-paddling test) between junior surfboard riders (surfers) of varying ability. Eight competitive (COMP) and 8 recreational (REC) junior male surfers performed a 30-s sprint-paddling test for the determination of peak sprint power and accumulated O2 deficit. Surfers also performed an incremental-paddling test for the determination of the O2 uptake–power output relationship that was subsequently used to calculate the accumulated O2 deficit for the 30-s sprint-paddling test. During the 30-s sprint-paddling test, peak sprint power (404 ± 98 vs 292 ± 56 W, respectively, P = .01) and the accumulated O2 deficit (1.60 ± 0.31 vs 1.14 ± 0.38 L, respectively, P = .02) were greater in COMP than in REC surfers, whereas peak O2 uptake measured during the incremental-paddling test was not different (2.7 ± 0.1 vs 2.5 ± 0.2 L/min, respectively, P = .11). The higher peak sprint power and larger accumulated O2 deficit observed in COMP than in REC surfers during a 30-s sprint paddling test suggest that surfing promotes development of the anaerobic energy systems. Furthermore, peak sprint power determined during 30 s of sprint paddling may be considered a sensitive measure of surfing ability or experience in junior male surfers.
Jenni M. Felder, Louise M. Burke, Brian J. Lowdon, David Cameron-Smith, and Gregory R. Collier
The aim of this study was to assess the dietary practices of 10 elite female surfers. Four- and five-day food diaries completed over competition and training periods demonstrated energy intakes (mean ± SD) of 9,468 kJ (±2,007) and 8,397 kJ (±1,831), respectively. This level of energy intake was less than that estimated for the requirements of surfing. Female surfers' carbohydrate intakes failed to meet the recommendations, and suboptimal zinc intake was observed with 90% of subjects not meeting the Australian RDI. Comparisons between competition and training demonstrated that carbohydrate (g and g/kg body weight) and confectionary (g) intakes were significantly higher (p < .05) and protein intake was significantly lower (p < .05) during competition. These results show that although body fat stores were not compromised (mean 22%), self-reported energy, carbohydrate, and nutrient intakes were marginal in elite female surfers. Questionnaires revealed that 90% of surfers did not have good nutritional habits while traveling, which was compounded by a lack of knowledge of nutritional practices.
Jeremy M. Sheppard, Sophia Nimphius, Greg G. Haff, Tai T. Tran, Tania Spiteri, Hedda Brooks, Gary Slater, and Robert U. Newton
Purpose:
Appropriate and valid testing protocols for evaluating the physical performances of surfing athletes are not well refined. The purpose of this project was to develop, refine, and evaluate a testing protocol for use with elite surfers, including measures of anthropometry, strength and power, and endurance.
Methods:
After pilot testing and consultation with athletes, coaches, and sport scientists, a specific suite of tests was developed. Forty-four competitive junior surfers (16.2 ± 1.3 y, 166.3 ± 7.3 cm, 57.9 ± 8.5 kg) participated in this study involving a within-day repeated-measures analysis, using an elite junior group of 22 international competitors (EJG), to establish reliability of the measures. To reflect validity of the testing measures, a comparison of performance results was then undertaken between the EJG and an age-matched competitive junior group of 22 nationally competitive surfers (CJG).
Results:
Percent typical error of measurement (%TEM) for primary variables gained from the assessments ranged from 1.1% to 3.0%, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from .96 to .99. One-way analysis of variance revealed that the EJG had lower skinfolds (P = .005, d = 0.9) than the CJG, despite no difference in stature (P = .102) or body mass (P = .827). The EJG were faster in 15-m sprint-paddle velocity (P < .001, d = 1.3) and had higher lower-body isometric peak force (P = .04, d = 0.7) and superior endurance-paddling velocity (P = .008, d = 0.9).
Conclusions:
The relatively low %TEM of these tests in this population allows for high sensitivity to detect change. The results of this study suggest that competitively superior junior surfers are leaner and possess superior strength, paddling power, and paddling endurance.
Danny O’Brien and Jess Ponting
This research analyzes a strategic approach to managing surf tourism in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Surf tourists travel to often remote destinations for the purpose of riding surfboards, and earlier research suggests the mismanagement of surf tourism in some destinations has resulted in significant deleterious impacts on host communities. The research question in this study addresses how surf tourism can be managed to achieve sustainable host community benefits in the context of a developing country. Primary data came from semistructured interviews and participant observation. The findings demonstrate how sport governing bodies can engage host communities in a collaborative framework for the sustainable utilization of sport tourism resources. The derived knowledge from this research may decrease host communities’ reliance on less sustainable commercial activities, and inform policy and practice on sustainable approaches to using sport tourism for community building and poverty alleviation.
