CommentsDEEGAN ON CALIFORNIA-Who will be honored? Will it be the beach boy (and girl) surfers, the board boy (and girl) skateboarders or even the snowboarders?Thousands of boys, girls, men and women in California and beyond enjoy all three sports.But which is the most reflective of California andworthy of being named the state’s official sport by the California Legislature? Hint: two of the three (surfing and skateboarding) will debut as Olympic sports at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The legislature has this question under consideration now in its effort to name a sport that will join other official state symbols such as the Grizzly Bear (animal), Coast Redwood (tree), Grey Whale (Marine Mammal), California Poppy (Flower), and Golden Trout (Freshwater Fish).
So much has been embedded in the national psyche about California being“where it’s at.” Trends start here and reach around the world. Both surfing and skateboarding are deeply identified with our state and culture, but which sport has primacy, and would make a better symbol as the official sport of California? It’s difficult to answer especially since both have enthusiastic adherents and there’s lots of crossover with surfers who skateboard and skateboarders who surf and both groups may also snowboard!
While wave riding may appear elite and limited to a narrow strip of mainly Southern California’s coastline, the skateboarders who skate in concrete skateparks are everywhere and may better represent inclusion. Does that make it more representative of California?Their origins are historically different: one sport is an import while the other is home-grown.
Surfing is a Polynesian sport that gained popularity in Hawaii where it was an exclusive privilege of royalty to ride the waves. Legend suggests that surfing was brought to Southern California in 1907 by railroad magnate Henry Huntington(namesake of Huntington Beach)as a publicity stunt to promote the Los Angeles-Redondo-Huntington railroad he owned. Oahu native George Freeth allegedly caught Huntington’s eye while surfing the Waikiki waves and was induced by him to demonstrate the sport at Huntington Beach as part of the railroad’s opening.
Skateboarding, on the other hand, is a home-grown California sport. As Tony Hawk Foundation Executive Director Miki Vuckovich told CityWatch, “Skateboarding was born here, invented by kids on the sidewalks and hills of Southern California in the 1940s. It has since spread throughout the world, with millions skating on every continent. Skateboarding is truly indigenous to California, representing the freedom and adventure that define our character. If there was ever a truly California sport, it’s skateboarding.”
While the origins of surfing and skateboarding may be settled, optics suggest that surfing is the more highly visible, pop-culture saturated sport here in the land of Sunshine Pop. Skateboarding, however, with its more urban vibe, reaches a broader fan base. Beach versus concrete -- on land or in the water–could it be there is room for everyone to be recognized?
The skateboard-centric Tony Hawk Foundation
does some incredible work with disadvantaged communities and at-risk children. Their mission includes supporting “recreational programs with a focus on the creation of public skateboard parks in low-income communities” that receive more than five million visits by youth annually. The Foundation proudly points to the more than 500 grant recipients they have helped open skateparks in low-income communities. In fifteen years, the foundation has awarded over $5.7million to 588 public skatepark projects in all 50 States, making it a far more inclusive sport than coastal (west, east and south) surfboarding.
But the coast is important, and surfers may be regarded as offshore stewards of our coastlines and even the oceans themselves. Like skateboarders they also have a philanthropic side, expressed through the Surfrider Foundation with its global mission,“the protection and enjoyment of the world's ocean, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network.” In the U.S., they have 80 chapters and 70 Youth Clubs that “carry out our mission through campaign, program and educational initiatives in their local communities.” They focus on Beach Access, Clean Water, Ocean Protection, Coastal Protection and Plastic Pollution initiatives.
Withtwo noble philanthropies supporting two wildly popular sports, how do we to choose which should be the official state sport? On January 8, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrence) introduced AB 1782 to “establish surfing as the official state sport.” He calls surfing “iconic” and includes some world-famous surf beaches like Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Half Moon Bay and Malibu, along with breaks like Trestles, Mavericks, Rincon, Steamer Lane, and Huntingtonas domestic and international destinations. His bill is now with the Committee on Governmental Organization committee awaiting a hearing.
Assemblymember Muratsuchi told CityWatch that “Protecting the coast goes hand in hand with surfing – a clean environment and clean water benefits California, not only economically but recreationally as well. It’s not intended to strengthen its legitimacy politically, but rather it is simply reflective of the values of Californians.”
Honoring both sports and the good work each group does has precedence in California: We have two State Reptiles, the Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle (State Marine Reptile), and the Desert Tortoise (State Land Reptile).
So why not have two Official State Sports: Surfing (State Water Sport) and Skateboarding (State Land Sport)?
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(Tim Deegan, is a civic activist whose DEEGAN ON LA weekly column about city planning, new urbanism, the environment, and the homeless appear in CityWatch. Tim can be reached at [email protected].) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
