One century after what is considered as its "official" implantation in Australia - conventionally established by Duke Kahanamoku's visit in 1914 - surfing continues to embody "'alternative' sporting values such as anti-competitiveness, anti-regulation, and personal freedom" (Wheaton, 2004). However, the emergence of competitive surfing in the 1960s introduced an ambivalent dimension to the practice, between the "soul surfers" and competitors, as well as between the "romantic" representations of surfing and the interrelated consumeristic aspects of the practice. This is particularly true on the Gold Coast, where competitive surfing has been incentivised not only by the abundance of high quality breaks but also by social and historical factors such as the (re)inclusion of the Gold Coast in the World Tour in 2002, the active job of the ubiquitous Boardriders Clubs on the local beaches, the legacy created by the locally bred world champions, and the inclusion of surfing programs in schools. Moreover, in the mobile and rapidly growing context of the Gold Coast, residents are now trying to affirm a cultural identity that overcomes the vision of the city as just a touristic resort and surfing has been playing an important role in this process. In fact, it has contributed to characterising the local landscape, define a particular "lifestyle", and delineate the cultural identity of a city that can be defined as a "surfing place". This is clearly exemplified by the inclusion of the Gold Coast in the World Surfing Reserve list. Anthropologists would refer to this process as "heritagization", a defining act which can establish an "order of things", determining the value of surfing for the local community at a social, cultural, and political level. This paper analyses this process and some of its consequences, such as its ability to stimulate environmental awareness and activism, legitimise economic/infrastructural interventions or institutional actions such as the Surf Management Plan, and promote the broader participation in surfing among new devotees who were not deeply involved before, such as women and aboriginal surfers.
Nardini, D. (2018). 'Living the dream': Surfing as a cultural heritage on Australia's Gold Coast. In SPORT FOR ALL History of a Vision Around the World - Book of Abstracts (pp.167-167).
'Living the dream': Surfing as a cultural heritage on Australia's Gold Coast
Nardini, D
2018
Abstract
One century after what is considered as its "official" implantation in Australia - conventionally established by Duke Kahanamoku's visit in 1914 - surfing continues to embody "'alternative' sporting values such as anti-competitiveness, anti-regulation, and personal freedom" (Wheaton, 2004). However, the emergence of competitive surfing in the 1960s introduced an ambivalent dimension to the practice, between the "soul surfers" and competitors, as well as between the "romantic" representations of surfing and the interrelated consumeristic aspects of the practice. This is particularly true on the Gold Coast, where competitive surfing has been incentivised not only by the abundance of high quality breaks but also by social and historical factors such as the (re)inclusion of the Gold Coast in the World Tour in 2002, the active job of the ubiquitous Boardriders Clubs on the local beaches, the legacy created by the locally bred world champions, and the inclusion of surfing programs in schools. Moreover, in the mobile and rapidly growing context of the Gold Coast, residents are now trying to affirm a cultural identity that overcomes the vision of the city as just a touristic resort and surfing has been playing an important role in this process. In fact, it has contributed to characterising the local landscape, define a particular "lifestyle", and delineate the cultural identity of a city that can be defined as a "surfing place". This is clearly exemplified by the inclusion of the Gold Coast in the World Surfing Reserve list. Anthropologists would refer to this process as "heritagization", a defining act which can establish an "order of things", determining the value of surfing for the local community at a social, cultural, and political level. This paper analyses this process and some of its consequences, such as its ability to stimulate environmental awareness and activism, legitimise economic/infrastructural interventions or institutional actions such as the Surf Management Plan, and promote the broader participation in surfing among new devotees who were not deeply involved before, such as women and aboriginal surfers.
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