Origins of Surfing

People in New Guinea, Hawaii, and Polynesia were the most proficient at surfing. Board surfing was first a pastime in Western Polynesia, but it was usually children who participated in this. It was Hawaii that revolutionized board surfing forever.
             Hawaii is the Washington D.C. of board surfing. The origin of board surfing started as canoe riding in the waves after a day of fishing. After that came body surfing, a practice in which an individual simply glides into the shore with the waves. Then came a basic surfing form with a small board known to many as body boarding. And last, surfing in Hawaii reached its peak with the development of board surfing. Just as the dinosaurs developed into today's reptiles, ancient surfing practices have molded into today's surfing.
             Yet surfing was not limited to the Polynesian Triangle. Surfing also got a big start from West Africa and South America. Peru was a leading country for South America in the surfing rise. Surfers were spotted of the coast riding reed boards made of papyrus. These boards were shaped very similar to modern surfboards. These practices are not related to ancient Polynesian surfing, but they are influential to the origination of surfing.
             Surfing as pictured by many was primarily developed in Hawaii. Wave riding became a highly developed recreational activity. The ancient Polynesian probably had simple surfing skills, but the Hawaiians built off of their roots and created a unique pastime. After a hundred years of Hawaiian wave riding, their style of surfing emerged.
             In addition, there were three types of surfboards that the ancient Hawaiians used, ranging from eight feet to twenty-four feet. The longest boards were the most difficult to handle and were reserved for royalty. Similar boards were found in New Zealand and Tahiti. These were the only places where boards longer than five feet were found. The similarities between Hawaii and Tahiti surfing are not a coincidence, but a connection.