SURFING: THE NATIONAL Project by

Berezyuk Arina
SPORT OF HAWAIIANS Form 3-A
Lyceum 8
The first surfing references were found in Polynesia. Cave painting from the 12th
Century show people riding on waves.
Polynesians brought surfing to Hawaii and the sport went viral. Surfing in Hawaii wasn't
only a sport but also an important part of the religion.
In the later, half of the nineteenth century, King Kalakaua, the Merry Monarch,
revived many ancient practices including the hula and surfing.
By 1905, a young teenager named Duke Kahanamoku and his friends frequented
Waikiki Beach to ride waves.
So Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was the first surfer in
Hawaii.
Surfing originated in the region we now call Polynesia but was the most advanced and documented in
Hawaii. Originally called wave sliding, this sport was more than just casual fun for both genders.
It had a lot of societal and spiritual meaning to the Hawaiian people, making it vastly important to
their culture.
Surfing got its name from the renowned artist John Webber, who spotted native Hawaiians in the Bay
of Kealakekua doing such activity. Its origin in English means “wave crest, break or swell”.
 Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or
two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or
face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer
towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on
ocean shores, but can also be found in standing waves in the open
ocean.
Another prominent form of surfing is body boarding, where a surfer
rides the wave on a board, either lying on their belly, drop knee (one
foot and one knee on the board), or sometimes even standing up on a
body board.
Boarding is so popular in Hawaii, that surfing is included in the school program.
This is not just a sport - every Hawaiian needs surf in life.
The island has all the infrastructure necessary for surfing.
While in other parts of Oceania surfing faded and was forgotten, in Hawaii it became the
national sport.