The First Surfers

Surfing is one of the oldest practiced sports on the planet, it has changed in many ways over the years but the core principles remain the same. The art of wave riding, is a blend of athleticism and the comprehension of the beauty and power of nature. Surfing is also one of the few sports that has developed its own culture and lifestyle.

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The act of riding waves with a wooden board originated in Western Polynesia over three thousand years ago.

There is no exact record of when stand-up surfing became a sport. It is known that during the 15th century, kings, queens and people of the Sandwich Isles were big into the sport of “he’enalu” or wave-sliding, in old Hawaiian,.

Early historical records of surfing appear in the late 1700s, when Europeans and Polynesians made first contact in Tahiti.