Surfing

Surfing, also called the art of wave riding, is one of the oldest and most practiced sports on the planet. The sport orignated in Western Polynesia over 3000 years ago. The first surfers where fishermen who realized the convenience of riding waves in order to get to shore with their catch. His sport was revolutionized when it pastime rather than any everday means of transportation.

It's not really known exactly when surfing became a sport but it is known that in the 15th century the people of the Sandwich Isles were into wave-sliding or "he'enalu" in old Hawaiian, "He'e" meaning to change from solid to liquid form and "nalu" refers to the motion of a wave. Early records show surfing appeared in Europe and the Polynesia in the 1700's when Europe first made contact with Tahiti.

The Hawaiians had a class known as "ali'i" which means high class. Only the surfers with the highest reputation for skill attained this title. These surfers where held in a kind of spirtual awe where no one dared to drop in on their waves in fear that they may become cursed or even die. Each of their boards underwent a sacred ritual before construction, when the tree was cut down for the board the maker left a fish in the hole as a sacrifice to the gods for the tree.