I’ve been trying to learn how to surf now for around thirty years. I like to surf. No. Let’s take that a step further. I love to surf. Do I call myself a surfer? No. A surfer is an athlete who has acquired a specific qualifying level of competence and skill at the act of surfing. I am one person who has not achieved that requisite standard... but, despite loving the act of … [Read more...]
The stoic approach to a game gone wrong – Sports tips from Seneca
Ancient philosopher, Seneca, was not much of an athlete. But he knew quite a bit about what it was like to have a bad day. His tips on how to deal with getting the rough end of the pineapple in a sporting context are well worth hearing. One might imagine that wealthy, famous and highly respected philosophers… people who have held high status roles in government and in business… … [Read more...]
Kahanamoku – Australia’s first surfer? Nah!
Manly Beach, 1913. Olympic silver medalist swimmer, Cecil Healy, meets a local ratbag beach bum for a beer and a chin wag. Hmmm. Maybe this chat never actually happened. But it could have. Tommy skips down the two sandstone steps from the front door of the Seagulls club house, traverses the tarmac footpath, crosses the South Steyne, then wanders past the timber surf club to … [Read more...]
Toxic style
Surfing is a unique sport. It can be so enthralling… so enchanting… so addictive… that, for some surfers, it can go beyond pleasurable and become a toxic experience damaging relationships, families, career, and even health. Sociologists have called this phenomenon as going past the “stoke apex”. These surfers have become victims of what journalist William Finnegan described as … [Read more...]
Are surfers sheep?
On a drizzling, dark late afternoon a few weeks back I was running on the track that links two surfing spots, The Pass and Wategos Beach. The path travels up a flight of steps, traverses a cliff line with a beautiful view of the ocean (a view that often includes sea eagles, dolphins, and whales), then passes down a second flight of stairs onto Wategos Beach below. It’s one of … [Read more...]