International Surfing Day

International Surfing Day, held annually on or near the date of the summer solstice^[1]—usually June 21^[2] (20 June on leap years)^[1]—is an unofficial, environmentally conscious^[3] sports-centered holiday that celebrates the sport of surfing and the surfing lifestyle and the sustainability of ocean resources.^[4][5] Contests and prizes^[6] are also part of the celebration, with surfing-related industries donating prizes such as surfboards and wetsuits.^[3] Another purpose of the celebration is to promote the popularity of surfing and to attract new participants.^[7]

History

A Naupaka plant

International Surfing Day was established in 2004^[8] by Surfing Magazine^[9][10] and The Surfrider Foundation,.^[9][10] International Surfing Day closely follows the spirit and intent of the World Surf Day established by the Usenet newsgroup alt.surfing in 1993.^[11] International Surfing Day is a worldwide^[12] celebration of the sport of surfing. The day is observed with surf contests,^[10] barbecues,^[13] film screenings^[3] and other surf-related activities. Surfers also use the day to give back to the environment by organizing beach clean-ups,^{[8][9][10][14][15][16]} dune and other habitat restoration^[13] and other activities^[5] such as lobbying to maintain the recreation areas in California where surfing occurs, or planting Naupaka (a flowering coastal plant) in Hawaii.^[1][17]

Direct action was used by form of protest on this day in England to express opposition to sewage in the waters of the Gold Coast; a precarious problem for many surfers who become infected by the bacteria from open wounds from sports-related injuries.^[18]

Extent of celebrations

International Surf Day events have been held on all populated continents including South America where it is celebrated in Argentina,^[12] Brazil,^[2] and Peru.^[2] Also in the Southern Hemisphere the holiday is observed in the Oceanian nations of Australia^[19] and New Zealand.^[2] The day is also widely observed in the American state of Hawaii, also in Oceania.^[5][16]

In North America the surfing day is most widely observed and celebrations may be found in Canada,^[2] Costa Rica,^[2] the French Antilles,^[2] El Salvador,^[20] Mexico,^[21] and in the majority of coastal states of the United States, Connecticut,^[2] New York,^[2] North Carolina,^[2] Virginia,^[2] Maryland,^[2] District of Columbia,^[2] Maine,^[2] Texas,^[2] New Jersey,^[8][9][22] California,^[1][6] Oregon,^[13] South Carolina,^[23] Florida,^[15][24] and Georgia.^[25]

After North America the observance has the most popularity in Europe: including in most of the coastal European Union and it is held by surf enthusiasts in France,^[2][7] Italy,^[7] the United Kingdom^[2] [including England^[18] and Cornwall^[2]], Portugal,^[7] Spain,^[7] and Belgium.^[2] Further European celebrations are held in Norway,^[7] in addition to many of the EU nations overseas possessions.

In Africa, the two French territories of: Réunion and Mayotte^[7] hold annual festivities alongside Morocco,^[7] Ghana,^{[citation needed]} the Spanish insular area of the Canary Islands^[7] and South Africa. The day has also taken hold in some other countries such as Israel,^[7] Japan,^[2] and Korea.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Earth Day
• Go Skateboarding Day

Notes

External links

• International Surfing Day Official website
• Official MySpace page
• International Surfing Day Social Network