This series will dive into “localism” and how it is part of river surfing for bad and for good. Too often surfers in general don’t understand what surfing localism really is, especially river surfers.
First a quiz. Are these events localism?
- Surfing in the ocean, you line-up for a wave, start paddling for the wave, and the surfer next to you aggressively paddles past you to cut you off and catch the wave. When the surfer makes it back to the line up, the same surfer give you the “stink eye”.
- You are surfing and the surfer next to you keeps on catching waves and when they return, they paddle further out behind you to get into position to grab wave after wave essentially rendering you surf-less.
- While on vacation you show up at an island surf destination and a sub-par surfer gets mad at you for getting more waves, and sternly yells at you that you are not a local and to “get the hell out of the water”.
- You finish a surf session in the ocean to return and to find that all four of your tires have had the air let out.
Localism is not specific to surfing. It happens in sports, communities, businesses, and government. Localism can be outright in the open. Localism can be hidden. And, localism can be something we all perpetuate.
Surfing localism defined in the negative is; Is an aggressive behavior commonly seen in crowded surf spots or in protection of surf spots so they do not become crowded.
Surfing localism defined in the positive is; A system of enforcing local norms that promotes respect, safety, and proper sharing of a finite amount of surf.
Problem is, localism even when well intended can, in a flash, turn into something negative or worse. We have all seen the stereotypical surfer movies or news reports where non-locals are driven from the surf line up sometimes with violence. Sure that unfortunately happens though it is very rare.
But here is where river surfers try to make a total disconnect to ocean surfing by saying, “The reason I like river surfing so much is that there is no localism in river surfing.” That is a misconception repeated all too often.
Unfortunately, river surfers who have no real experience surfing the ocean, will often mistake actions observed in the ocean surf as “localism”. Let’s break down the four scenarios listed above:
First is, a surfer paddles aggressively past you to catch a wave and then paddle back giving you a dirty look. The likely reason was due to you not understanding or following the surfer’s “priority to a wave” and surf etiquette. Simply put, the surfer closest to the breaking part of the wave (aka the curl) has priority and all surfers while paddling for a wave must look and assure they are closest to that breaking part of the wave to establish priority. A common mistake by newbies and even experienced surfers is not looking to the breaking part of the wave to make sure nobody is paddling or about to paddle for the wave closer to the breaking part of the wave. This has absolutely nothing to do with localism, even with a stink eye sent your way. It is an orderly fashion of taking waves in the ocean so people don’t surf into each other.
Second is not localism, it is called “back paddling” to take waves from you. Often this is done by jerks trying to score more waves than you. Or it could be your positioning where you have drifted to close to the same surfer lined up where the waves are breaking, and they are just positioning themself away from you and are making you pay for it. Learn to keep a distance away from other surfers in the line-up. Surfing in the ocean does not for the most part lend itself to socializing; so distances yourself as much as you can from other surfers, and keep the socializing to the parking lot.
Third is, while visiting an ocean surf destination, a subpar surfer local gets mad at you and orders you out of the surf after you are getting more waves than the local surfer. This is also not localism in a negative sense. You as a visiting surfer must realize you are a guest and hundreds more of you showed up before you to surf that spot and hundreds more of you will show up after you to surf that same spot. Hogging waves from locals is a sign of disrespect, selfishness, and tourism ugliness. It is important when surfing a destination spot that you share waves with those who live there and assume that others in the waves are also locals.
Fourth, you end a session and go back to your car to find all four tires flattened. This could be negative localism or you might actually deserve it. Once again, your actions in the surf can have reactions while you are in the water. Assess what your are doing in the surf with others and avoid conflict and share waves as best you can.
Hopefully this has been educational on what surf localism is and is not. Check out the vid below.
Part 2 of TRUTH ABOUT “LOCALISM” will explore localism more in depth in river surfing itself. In the meantime, do some contemplating of examples of localism for good and bad at the various river waves you surf.
When this series is concluded, the comment section will be opened for discussion.
LBK
PS, condolences to the family/friends/community of the tuber who drowned last week in Buena Vista. Apparently the victim was wearing a well fitting pfd and wetsuit and may have “flush drown”.. Something to think about when river surfing spots of consequences. Even the best equipment sometimes does not make it safe enough to venture into the river. Learn about the waves you want to surf, check the conditions, and “When In Doubt, Don’t Go Out”.
The Denver Surf Report 