Surfin' St Andrews

It’s that time of year again: the sun is out, water’s warm, and surfers are flocking to the sea from far and wide. Wait, hang on a second … it’s October? In Scotland? And East Sands is still getting busier by the day with locals and tourists alike looking to catch a wave? What on earth is going on here?

When most people think of surfing, the North Sea in autumn probably isn’t the first thing to cross their minds. This might have something to do with the sport’s tropical origin story and hubs. Developing in Polynesia from as early as 2000 BCE, surfing was not mere sport, but spirituality. To be a good surfer, or ‘wave-slider’ as it was known in the Hawaiian language at the time, was associated with status and even royalty. Village chiefs were traditionally the best surfers in the community, with access to the best boards and beaches to match. The art of surfing was also inextricably tied to local cultures and religious ritual; one might have prayed to ocean deities for a safe experience or looked to a priest to predict the arrival of good waves. Surfing, therefore, was an expression of harmony between humanity, the natural world, and the spiritual.

Today, surfing has inspired a diverse range of cultural movements. From music to clothing to personality, few sports can claim to go further than surfing in its attachment to a completely unique community and lifestyle. The 1950s saw this cultural transformation take place on the beaches of California, where surfing became a symbol of rebellion and freedom from conformity, while the 60s saw ‘Surfin’ USA’ and ‘Surfin’ Safari’ topping the charts. Duke Kahanamoku is perhaps the individual who had the most responsibility for this cultural exchange and transmission, being a Hawaiian surfer who exhibited the sport across the world. From Australia to Southern California, he even inspired the practice of using surfboards during ocean rescues. Through all this, the sport was democratised — a far cry from its origins in communal hierarchies — appealing to the post-war promotion of social liberation. Now, in my mind and many others, surfing is essentially tied to freedom; the ability to run into the ocean with nothing but a board in hand, and to see what the sea has in store. 

So how has the favoured pastime of California girls made its way to the sands of St Andrews? Surfing itself arrived in the United Kingdom in 1890, when two Hawaiian princes, brothers Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole and David Kawānanakoa, caught some waves in our very own North Sea (never mind that the beach they used was in Yorkshire). But surfing didn’t quite reach what one article termed ‘Fife’s answer to Bondi Beach’ until the 1990s, when the groundwork was laid for the university’s surfing club by a small number of student pioneers. From there, the rest is history…. Now, there are few UK universities with such boundless surf opportunities, from weekly club sessions to yearly Morocco trips. After all, who needs the American West Coast when West Sands is right there? Assuming you're wearing your wetsuit, of course.

Illustration by Niamh McPartlin