Coverage of the Amateur World Surfing Ch

World Surfing

Volume 36

issue 2 / 2017 Championship (1978-1990)

Contracam po e- I SSN 2238- 2577

Nit erói ( RJ) , 36 ( 2)

aug/ 2017- nov/ 2017

Contracam po – Brazilian Journal

of Com m unicat ion is a quart erly publicat ion of the Graduate

RAFAEL FORTES

Program m e in Com m unicat ion PhD in Com m unicat ion, Flum inense Federal Flum inense. Professor at the

Studies ( PPGCOM) at Flum inense Departm ent of Social Sciences, Federal University in the St ate of Rio de Janeiro Federal University ( UFF) . I t aim s ( Unirio) and perm anent st aff of the I nterdisciplinary Graduat e Program in

to contribut e t o crit ical reflect ion Leisure Studies of the Federal Universit y of Minas Gerais ( UFMG) . Young within the field of Media Studies,

being a space for dissem inat ion of I ntercom Com m unication and Sport research group. Brazil. E- m ail: research and scient ific thought . raffortes@hot m ail.com

Scientist of Our Stat e ( 2015- 2017) , Faperj , and coordinat or ( 2017- 2018) of the

TO REFERENCE THI S ARTI CLE, PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWI NG CI TATI ON:

Fortes, R. ( 2017) Coverage of the Am ateur World Surfing Cham pionship ( 1978- 1990). Contracam po – Brazilian Journal of Com m unicat ion, 36 ( 2) .

Abstract 1

This art icle analyzes edit ions of the Surfing m agazine, bet ween 1978 and 1990, wit h two obj ect ives. First ly, t o out line t he coverage of t he am at eur surfing world cham pionships from 1978 t o 1990. Secondly, t o exam ine t he coverage of Sout h Africa’s part icipat ion in 1978 and non- part icipat ion bet ween 1980 and 1990. The corpus is form ed of edit ions of t he m agazine published in t he indicat ed period. The m et hodology follows the procedures suggest ed by Luca ( 2005) for hist orical research that has printed docum ent s as it s source and obj ect , com bined wit h t he perspect ive defended by Boot h ( 2008) . As for t he first obj ect ive, t he coverages em phasize t he effect ively com pet it ive aspects, such as t he perform ance of the at hlet es and t eam s, especially from the USA. Wit h regard t o the second obj ect ive, in m ost cases, the absence of Sout h Africa was silenced.

Keywords

Sport ; Media; Magazine; Boycot t; Unit ed St ates of Am erica.

1 This article is an extended and revised version of a communication presented at the XXXIX Brazilian Congress of Communication Sciences. The work was carried out with the support of the Coordination for

the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and includes postdoctoral research carried out in the History Department of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in the United States. Surfing issues were collected from the Special Collections and University Archives of San Diego State University (SDSU) and from the California Surf Museum.

Introduction

I n 1978, t he cit y of East London in Sout h Africa host ed the Am at eur World Surfing Cham pionship. The t raj ect ory unt il t he event was difficult : there had not been a cham pionship of the genre since 1972 and t he ent it y responsible for t he

previous ones, the I nt ernat ional Surfing Federat ion ( I SF) , had st opped operat ing. 2 The resum pt ion of the world cham pionships included act ive part icipat ion of Basil Lom berg, a South African leader who led t he m ovem ent t o creat e a new body t o oversee int ernat ional am at eur surfing, adding national confederat ions, and organizing the com pet ition. ( Holm es, 1981, p. 62) Except for the Australian t eam ’s boycot t , the com pet it ion went apparent ly sm oot hly.

I n the int ernat ional sport s scenario, Sout h Africa was away from m ost com pet it ions in the lat e 1970s, as a result of a boycot t 3 by nat ional governm ent s and sport s organizat ions, which peaked in the 1980s. The count ry had been expelled from t he I nt ernat ional Olym pic Com m it t ee ( I OC) in 1970, having m ade t heir last part icipat ion in the Olym pic Gam es in 1960 ( Boot h, 1998) .

This art icle is part of a research proj ect aim ing t o analyze the represent at ions built in US surfing m agazines regarding t he relat ionship bet ween t he sport m odalit y and t he boycott t o Sout h Africa. I t is based on the prem ise t hat surfing occupied a very peculiar space in relat ion t o t he int ernat ional boycot t, as bet ween t he creat ion of the World Professional Circuit in 1976 and t he suspension of t he boycot t by m ost of the int ernat ional sport s organizat ions in 1991, there was at least one grand prix in t he count ry every year and the part icipat ion of Sout h- African at hlet es was const ant .

The focus of this art icle in the am at eur scope is explained by t he scarcit y of invest igat ions in this respect . Am ong the surveys t hat address surfing m agazines in t he period, none is dedicat ed t o t he t opic. Even in the rare works dealing wit h surfing and t he sport ing boycot t of the count ry, lit t le ( Thom pson, 2015) or very lit t le ( Laderm an, 2014) em phasis is given t o am at eur surfing and world class cham pionships.

The first obj ect ive of t his art icle is t o out line t he coverage of t he am at eur world cham pionships in Surfing m agazine from 1978 t o 1990. The second one is to

2 I do not know about the existence of papers that describe and analyze the decline of the I SF. Warshaw credits the I SF's dism antling after the 1972 cham pionship to a set of factors,

including a lack of cash prizes and lack of interest in the event. I nternational Surfing Federation ( I SF) . ( Warshaw, 2003, p. 291- 2) .

3 By “ Boycott” , we refer to a set of m easures, which include pressures for non- participation of South African athletes and team s in overseas com petitions and/ or for events in the

country not to be carried out. I n m any cases, such pressures included threats of non- attendance by countries or blocks of countries, if a particular event had the participation of a delegation representing South Africa.

analyze the coverage of South Africa’s part icipat ion in 1978 and t he non- part icipat ion from 1980 t o 1990.

To do so, it analyzes a corpus consist ing of all edit ions of the j ournal published in the indicat ed period. From the m et hodological point of view, the descript ion and analysis follow t he procedures suggested by Luca ( 2005) for t he hist orical invest igat ion t hat has print m edia as it s source and obj ect . The analyt ical perspect ive approaches t hat advocat ed by Boot h ( 2008) , “ a bot tom - up analyt ic approach [ that is, from t he sources] , which considers t he m agazine in it s own t erm s” , art iculat ing it wit h the cont ext in which it is produced and circulat es ( p. 20) .

Creat ed in 1964 wit h the nam e I nt ernat ional Surfing, Surfing “ em erged from

a bunch of surf m agazines headquart ered in Sout hern California in t he early and m id- 1960s” t o becom e, in t he following decade, one of t he t wo t hat dom inat ed the US m arket bet ween that period and the present t im e – being Surfer t he other one.

I t began as bim ont hly and som et im es changed it s profile, owner and headquart ers t hroughout t he 1960s and 1970s. I n addit ion to t he Am erican m arket, where it had

a wide circulat ion, it has est ablished it self as one of the t op t hree surfing publicat ions in t he world. I t circulat ed on all cont inent s and had worldwide influence. The newsst and sale of it s copies, and the m ere possibilit y of it s arrival, creat ed expect at ions in several locat ions, including Brazilian cit ies, such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo ( Fort es, 2011; Brandão, 2014, p. 52) . I t st opped circulat ing in early 2017. I n 2001, aft er acquisit ions involving edit orial groups t hat bought each ot her, Surfing becam e t he propert y of t he sam e com pany ( Prim edia) t hat published it s m ain com pet it or, Surfer; “ I n 2013, Surfing, Surfer and TransWorld Surf, t he t hree largest m agazines in t he sport , becam e propert y of t he sam e com pany, Source I nt erlink Media” . Colum nist s ( such as Drew Kam pion and Nick Carroll) and phot ographers ( such as Don Jam es and Dan Merkel) who becam e

references in the surf 4 subculture were part of t he m agazine. I t had text s, colum ns and report s writ t en by professional surfers, som e of whom , like Pet er Townend and Sout h African Michael Tom son, becam e part of the edit orial t eam .

Surfing w as considered as apolit ical, which is another reason why we chose t he m agazine as an em pirical obj ect , as will be seen lat er in t he art icle. I n addit ion, it present ed it self as “ t he best in serious coverage of professional cham pionships” and “ the reliable source of what is going on in t he dynam ic world of professional surfing” , which was it s focus. Nevert heless, in Oct ober 1980, t he publicat ion affirm ed a com m it m ent t o am at eur surfing:

4 Sam e as above. I refer to surfing as a subculture in the term s defined by Fortes ( 2011) .

1964 was a stellar year for the surfing world. Not only did that year witness the first issue of SURFI NG Magazine published, but the World Am ateur Surfing Cham pionships also held their inaugural contest. SURFI NG Magazine has been an advocate of am ateur surfing since the beginning, and this year is no different, as the 8th World Surfing Cham pionships get underway ( ...). (Surfing, 1980, p. 27)

I n fact , it dedicat ed space t o this area of surfing: it regularly profiled young surfers and published the result s of com pet it ions. However, wit h regard t o phot os, t he m ost valued elem ent of surfing m agazines, relat ively few were am at eur surfers ( and the age group that prevails in com pet it ions in the cat egory: under 20 years) . Regardless of t he space dedicat ed t o non- professional com pet it ors, the valorizat ion of t he event concerned appears at various t im es, as in t his 1988 edit orial: “ ( ...) am at eur surfing’s biennial World Cham pionships have always been considered one of the sport 's m ost spect acular event s.” ( Varnes, 1988, p. 48) . The praise and relevance at t ribut ed t o t he event const it ut e a t hird fact or t hat just ifies t he focus on t he publicat ion in t his art icle.

The World Surfing Cham pionship was an event ” “ held in different locat ions around t he world between 1964 and 1994 ( ...) ” . From 1964 t o 1972, it was t he m ost im port ant of t he sport , having been organized by the I SF 5 and adm it t ed t he part icipat ion of professional at hlet es 6 . Aft er a hiatus during the 1970s, a new ent it y, the I nt ernat ional Surfing Associat ion ( I SA) was form ed in 1976, t aking the place of t he I SF, t o provide a m ore consist ent st ruct ure of World Cham pionships” . St ill according t o t he Encyclopedia of Surfing, it was officially nam ed the Am at eur World Surfing Cham pionship from 1978 t o 1994 t o m ake the dist inction in relat ion

t o t he world professional circuit founded in 1976 clear” . 7 Resum ed wit h a sm all- scale event in 1978, “ The cham pionship grew in the years t o com e, and in 1988, surfers com pet ed in t he m en’s, j unior, wom en’s, longboard, bodyboard and kneeboard divisions as well as t he overall t eam score” ( Warshaw, 2003, p. 710- 11) .

The Am at eur World Cham pionship seeks t o get closer t o t he Olym pic event s. There are opening and closing cerem onies, in which delegat ions parade wit h an at hlet e ahead carrying the flag of the count ry. The event was part of I SA’s effort s

5 Except by the one from 1964. Sam e as above.

6 The concept of professional is as im portant as it is little discussed and problem atized in sports studies in Brazil (except for som e works on soccer in the first four decades of the

twentieth century) . I refer here to the participation of surfers who received cash prizes in other cham pionships and/ or had som e form of sponsorship or financial aid. The World Cham pionship did not distribute cash prizes, but m edals and trophies.

7 According to Warshaw ( 2003) , "the Am ateur World Surfing Cham pionship was replaced in 1996 by the World Surfing Gam es." World Surfing Cham pionships. I n: Warshaw, 2003, p.

710- 11.

t o show t hat t he sport is present in m any count ries on different cont inent s – a com plicat ed t ask, considering lit t le or no penet rat ion during the 20 th cent ury in m ost countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. “ I SA becam e a m em ber of t he General Assem bly of I nt ernat ional Sport s Federat ions in 1987, m aking it one st ep closer t o t he approval of t he Olym pic Gam es by t he I nt ernat ional Olym pic Com m it t ee” . I n 1995, it was recognized by t he I OC as t he governing body of wave sport s. 8

I n surf m agazines and m ovies, as well as in books writ t en by surfers and/ or j ournalist s, references t o t he winners unt il 1972 are com m on as sim ply “ world cham pions” , wit hout such adj ect ives as am at eurs, which was adopt ed in 1978. For

a surfing j ournalist , the event was especially relevant for the opport unit y t o bring t oget her people involved in t he sport in different count ries t o exchange inform at ion – a difficult t ask unt il t he m id- 1990s, before the rise of the int ernet . ( Holm es, 1981, p. 62)

Having m ade t his brief present at ion of Surfing and the Am at eur World Cham pionship, I will analyze the coverage from 1978 t o 1990.

The World Surfing Amateur Championships in Surfing

As indicat ed in the opening paragraph, Basil Lom berg, president of the Sout h African Surfriders’ Associat ion ( SASA) , was an im port ant art iculat or for t he

I SA foundat ion and the resum pt ion of the am at eur worldwide ( Thom pson, 2015, page 110) . This is one of the evidences of how com pet it ive surfing dist anced it self from the posit ion of m ost sport s ent it ies in the face of t he boycott . While in other m odalit ies t he South African confederat ions and their represent at ives were banned, suspended or expelled, in surf not only t he cham pionship would be held in t he count ry, but also it is t he president of SASA who art iculat es t he creat ion of the ent it y and is elect ed president , holding t he posit ion for four years ( 1976- 1980) . During t he period, Sout h Africa also host ed t he I SA, according t o the det erm inat ion t hat “ t he headquart ers office of t he organizat ion would be locat ed in the count ry of t he one who was fulfilling the m andat e as I SA president ” . 9

8 50th Anniversary I SA History. I SASurf.org, [ s.d.] . Retrieved June 28, 2016, from : < https: / / www.isasurf.org/ isa- info/ history- of- the- isa> . I n 1988, a note stated that "( ...) the sport ( ...) has a great chance of being part of the 1996 Olym pics." ( Varnes, Mitch. Puerto Rican to Head I SA in Surfing, 1988, p. 85) . I n August 2016, the I OC announced surfing and skateboarding am ong the five m odalities included in the 2020 Olym pic Gam es scheduled for Tokyo. Retrieved August 28, 2016, from : < https: / / www.olym pic.org/ news/ ioc- approves- five- new- sports- for- olym pic- gam es- tokyo- 2020> .

9 I do not know sources or surveys that explain such a m easure. I believe that, given the scarcity of resources, the m ost practical ( and perhaps the only viable) solution has been a rotation between federations, the president and the local ( national) entity, accum ulating the infrastructure, tasks and costs of m aintaining I SA in operation. This is an issue to be investigated. ( I nternational Surfing Association ( I SA) . I n: Warshaw, 2003, p.291) .

I n t he Oct ober 1978 edit ion, a not e st at ed t hat “ t here will be at least five count ries represent ed in t he 7 th Am at eur World Surfing Cham pionship” , scheduled t o t ake place from 3 t o 24 of July in Nahoon Reef ( Sout h Africa) , and the not e congrat ulates t hose chosen t o represent the USA. Different sources point t o the lim it at ions of the 1978 com pet it ion. According t o the Encyclopedia of Surfing, “ six count ries com pet ed in a sm all, one- day World Surfing Cham pionship” . The high

price of air t icket s from several count ries 10 t o South Africa and t he fact t hat the count ry is t he headquart er ( considering t he ant iapart heid int ernat ional j oint s) probably m ade it difficult for at hlet es and t eam s t o at t end. However, I do not know about any sources or pieces of research about it .

From an organizat ional point of view, an int ernat ional federat ion was virt ually re- founded in a t um ult uous m om ent in the professional surfing scene, in which t he new I nt ernational Professional Surfers ( I PS) circuit faced resist ance and divergence ( Boot h, 2001, pages 127- 132) . There was concern about how respondents would respond wit h professionalism . According t o t he text of one of t he m ain leaders of I PS, a point of reference for the first assem bly of t he organizat ion was “ t o dist inguish and separat e professionals and am ateurs” , and the lat t er could “ com pet e in t he 7 th Am at eur World Cham pionship, recognized by I SA, planned for South Africa” . The art icle added t hat “ I PS CEO Fred Hem m ings had said: “ I PS’s board is com m it t ed t o t he recognition of a st rong am at eur associat ion. We support 100% t he newly form ed I SA” . 11

From what can be seen, I SA leaders consult ed t hose of I PS, wit h at least two purposes: to est ablish crit eria t hat separat ed t he two spheres of t he sport ; and t o get support from the organizers of the professional circuit , which at t hat m om ent gained st rength and visibilit y. The prognosis for 1977 was opt im ist ic:

With professional surfing entering the 1977 circuit with a prize pool well over US$ 100,000 and am ateurs glim psing the prestige of the World Cham pionship, surf is m oving forward at an im pressive pace. The general public can now give the professional surfer the acclaim

deserved by any sportsperson with a sim ilar status . 12

10 As will be seen, at the tim e the top t eam s were Australia, the United States and Hawaii - all located thousands of m iles from South Africa.

11 “ ( ...) distinct separation of professionals and am ateurs ( ...). ( ...) to com pete in the I SA- sanctioned 7th Am ateur World Surfing Cham pionships scheduled for South Africa ( ...) .

Executive director of the I PS, Mr. Fred Hem m ings said ‘The board of directors is com m itted to the recognition of a strong am ateur association. We are 100% behind the newly- form ed

I SA’.” RARI CK, Randy. I PS REPORT. Surfing, v. 13, No. 3, Jun.- Jul. 1977, page 21. 12 “ With professional surfing entering the 1977 circuit with well over $100,000 in prize

m oney and the am ateurs looking forward to the prestige of the World Cham pionships, surfing is m oving ahead at a trem endous pace. The general public is now in a position to acknowledge the professional surfer the acclaim due any sportsm an of sim ilar status.” Sam e as above.

During the post doct oral research period in California, I cont acted I SA, int erest ed in docum ent s ( such as drafts and m inut es of m eet ings and let t ers exchanged wit h federations) t hat dealt wit h t he discussion surrounding t he boycot t and part icipat ion of SASA and/ or t eam s and at hlet es represent ing it . I said that Sout h Africa had not com pet ed in t he period indicat ed because of the boycott , and t hat I was int erest ed in sources concerning the disput es and negot iat ions t hat led t o t he final decision in each World Cham pionship. Here is t he answer: “ Based on t he inform at ion I have, I cannot conclude t hat South Africa did not com pet e because of apart heid. Many countries cannot send a t eam , as t here are sim ply no resources. Unfortunat ely, t here are in fact no docum ent s t o support or deny such

claim s” . 13 According to I SA, inform at ion on the part icipat ion of t he Sout h African t eam at the World Cham pionships from 1978 t o 1990 is as follows:

Ye a r

Sout h Afr ica Pa r t icipa t ion

H e a dqu a r t e r

Sout h Africa 1982

Cham pion

Aust ralia 1984

Did not com pet e

California 1986

Result s not available

England 1988

Did not com pet e

Puert o Rico 1990

Source: I SA. 14 Two observat ions on t hese dat a: a) The ent it y list skips the 1980

cham pionship, held in France 15 ; b) There is no record of t he 1984 result s, whose cham pionship was held in Sout hern California, where t he ent it y’s headquart ers is locat ed t oday. I did not get inform at ion or explanat ions about t hese gaps, nor do I know t he dat e when t he I SA was definit ively est ablished in t he st at e ( and if it is in t he sam e head office and in La Jolla since t hen) . The it inerant headquart ers system has probably cont ribut ed t o spreading and ham pering access t o t he docum ent at ion.

The coverage of t he 1978 World Cham pionship was rest rict ed t o a t hird of a page in a cross- sect ion. Under the t it le “ World Contest Relaunched. ” ( Surfing,

13 Em ails exchanged between 5/ 16/ 2016 and 5/ 18/ 2016 with Evan Quarnstrom , Media and Marketing coordinator of I SA, whom I thank for the inform ation.

14 Source: em ails exchanged between 5/ 16/ 2016 and 5/ 18/ 2016 with Evan Quarnstrom , Media and Marketing coordinator for I SA.

15 I n the list of world cham pions available on the site of the entity appear the individual winners of 1980 and other years. However, there is no result for team s. Retrieved June 2,

2016, from : < https: / / www.isasurf.org/ isa- world- cham pions> .

1979, p. 31) , it addressed t he perform ance of som e at hlet es, holding a j unior cham pionship apart and t he results of both. I t report ed that the individual winner was a South African, but not t hat the count ry also won the t eam t it le.

According to t he t ext , there were “ represent at ives from every m aj or surfing nat ion ( except Aust ralia, who withdrew because of polit ical considerat ions) ” ( idem ) .

I n addit ion t o t he host count ry, I ident ified t he part icipat ion of USA, Puert o Rico and

France. 16 On one hand, t he Aust ralian absence is m ent ioned, alt hough wit hout specifying the reason or m ent ioning the words boycott and apart heid. On the other hand, t he claim t hat it was t he only st rong t eam not t o appear could suggest that t he cham pionship had qualit y and representat ive cont enders and was, thereby, relevant . I n any case, the focus of t he short t ext is in t he com pet it ive field; polit ics appears as passing, t o j ust ify a rem arkable absence. The prevailing view is that of t he sports field as som et hing dist inct and separat e from the polit ical field.

Subsequent evaluat ions of t he event vary. The Encyclopedia of Surfing st at es t hat it “ was barely not iced: only 48 surfers from six count ries com pet ed in a ( ...) one- day and exclusively m ale cham pionship, and apart heid policies prevent ed Aust ralia from sending a t eam ” . Thom pson ( 2015) st at es t hat the Aust ralian t eam boycot t ed t he event due t o apart heid, but presents a dist inct assessm ent : “ Alt hough the 1978 World Cham pionship was t he last int ernat ional com pet it ion organized by I SA in which Sout h Africans part icipat ed unt il 1994, t he governm ent of Sout h Africa used this event t o illust rat e the int ernat ional sport ing com pet it iveness of the count ry ( page 111) . He cont inues:

Following the 1978 World Cham pionship, the Sports Depart m ent awarded another South African surfing awards in 1979: Ant hony Brodowicz’s State President’s Sport Award for 1978 for surf- riding and Basil Lom berg, president of SASA, received the South African Sports Merits Awards of 1979, an award for sports leaders ( Thom pson, 2015, page 112) .

The awarded ones were, respect ively, t he winner and organizer of t he World Cham pionship. The stat e body had already awarded prizes t o professional surfer Shaun Tom son in 1977. According t o him , “ I n Sout h Africa, we have always been considered professional athlet es, luckily by avoiding t he st ereot ypes surrounding surfers here in t he Unit ed St at es” ( Tom son & Moser, 2006, p. 13) . Cert ainly, st at e support integrat ed and fost ered such recognit ion. According t o Thom pson ( 2015) , t he Departm ent of Sport ’s annual report s cit ed surfing as an exam ple of Sout h Africa having int ernat ional “ friends” and good sport s perform ance ( p. 112) .

16 The m ention of the presence of "all large nations" indicates that Hawaii also attended.

That is, surfing was used in st at e docum ent s as an inst rum ent t o m inim ize bot h t he boycot t and t he effect s of it – an exam ple of explicit use of sport for polit ical purposes, and also of close relat ions between t he fields. The 1978 cham pionship was polit ically m obilized by t he Sout h African governm ent : st at e invest m ent s in surfing were part of a polit ical proj ect ; however, such a relat ionship and t he im pet us and legit im acy t hat it gave t o t he m odalit y in t he count ry are not considered by Surfing as an int rusion of t he sport polit ics. Alt hough the cham pionship was due in large part t o the personal init iat ive of a sport s m anager, a “ world” event was held in the count ry in m id- 1978, when the sports boycott was already rat her dissem inat ed, and Surfing did not consider it as a polit ical fact .

One of t he aspect s that give relevance t o the coverages of t he am at eur world cham pionships is t hat they are one of the few m om ent s in which the role of Sout h African leaders in the com m and and art iculat ion of the int ernat ional surfing appears. The m ain occasion occurred in 1980, following t he recent deat h of Basil Lom berg:

The kiss of life that resurrected the World Contest in 1978 was largely a result of the efforts and vision of one m an – Basil Lam berg of South Africa – who devoted vast am ounts of personal tim e and expense to reunite the national surfing bodies that had once m ade up the I nternational Surfing Federation. The new am ateur world body, the I nternational Surfing Association, had the express purpose of providing am ateur surfers with a suprem e aim – the World Cham pionship title.

Basil Lam berg died suddenly and unexpect edly last year, and his passing was a sad and serious blow to the world am ateur body he had wholeheartedly supported and nurtured. Nevertheless, his efforts laid the groundwork for the continuation of the World Contest. So it was that the World Contest took place in France this year under t he direction of the French Surfing Federation. ( Holm es, 1981, p. 62) .

I highlight t hree point s in t his quote. First , alt hough t he text does not inform it , as already said, t here was no World Cham pionship aft er 1972. According t o t he j ournalist , the personal com m it m ent of the leader had been essent ial for organizing

a new ent it y t o govern am at eur sport s. Lom berg’s responsibilit ies help explain why t he 1978 cham pionship was held in Sout h Africa and, secondly, for what reason the com plim ent ary t one is oft en found in t he press - not j ust sport s - when som e public figure or leadership dies. Third, the t extual const ruct ion t hat present s the 1980 com pet it ion, obj ect of report ing, is a further direct developm ent of Lom berg’s work. The resource allows bot h a t ribut e to t he leader and a brief cont extualizat ion of the resum pt ion of the event , som ething recent and whose feasibilit y of repet it ion at regular int ervals was still uncert ain.

The art icle cont inues addressing the cham pionship it self:

While the event enj oyed good waves for the m ost part, was located in a m agnificent surfing environm ent (at the prim e tim e of year) , and produced a world cham pion in a sequence of adequat ely j udged rounds, it could not be said that the contest ran without its share of controversy and problem s. ( Holm es, 1981, p. 62) .

About “ controversy and problem s” , t he excerpt , the next two paragraphs and the one t hat closes t he st ory use generic t erm s ( “ Shortcom ings” ( Holm es, 1981, p. 63) ., “ organizat ional incongruit ies” ( idem ) , and “ failures” ( idem , p. 64) ) without m aking it clear what problem s exact ly occurred and who was affect ed by them . The t ext st at es t hat the j udgm ent had been well perform ed for m ost of t he t im e, som et hing significant , as t he com plaint s ( from surfers, but also of m anagers, t echnicians, sponsors, businessm en, report ers et c.) were com m on at t he t im e as t o t he result s of t he bat t eries, am at eur and professional surfing. A num ber of fact ors - not t o be explored here - provoked such a sit uat ion.

Were t he “ cont roversies” relat ed to the absence of Sout h Africa? I t is hard t o know. The count ry had host ed the previous event and won the t it le. That is, t he cham pion was unable to defend the t it le, t he World Cham pionship was held wit hout t he presence of an im port ant count ry, and short ly after t he death of a crucial leadership t o react ivat e t he cham pionship. I t is im m ediat ely aft er highlight ing the role of Lom berg t hat the t ext speaks of “ cont roversy and problem s” wit hout m aking explicit what it is about. Only an analysis of the product ive rout ines could allow t o know if such vagueness result s from what was writ t en by t he report er and/ or t he edit ing process, as well as t he reasons for such.

Before each World Cham pionship, t here were debat es, cont roversies and t hreat s in t he negot iat ions bet ween t he nat ional associat ions regarding t he part icipat ion of som e of t hem , depending on the prospect of South African presence or not . I n fact , such negot iat ions and skirm ishes preceded m uch of the event s that ended up excluding Sout h African part icipat ion, which shows that adherence t o t he boycot t was far from consensual and st able am ong nat ional governm ent s and, even m ore, ent re the sports leaders. Researches such as those of Nauright ( 1997) and Boot h ( 1998) include dozens of exam ples, in different m odalit ies.

According to Thom pson ( 2015) , the Dut ch federat ion t hreat ened t o boycot t t he event if Sout h Africa part icipat ed ( page 112) . The Brit ish and I rish count erparts, for t heir part , assured that they would appear even if t heir nat ional

governm ents, which advocat ed boycot t ing, cut the m oney t o pay for the t rip. 17 The French federat ion hesit at ed in t he m ont hs before t he event , in doubt as t o what

17 I n the results, Surfing listed only the first three places, which does not allow to know if Holland and I reland appeared. England participated, as a legend of page 63 ( apparently the

m agazine used England as a synonym ous with Great Britain) .

posit ion t o t ake. I n t he end, the French governm ent refused t o issue visas for South African at hlet es t o t ravel and com pet e. I n a decision t hat cam e not from t he surfing organizat ions, but from t he French st at e, the Sout h African am at eur t eam suffered for t he first t im e t he effect s of t he boycot t .

Also according t o Thom pson ( 2015) , during t he World Cham pionship, Tim Millward, then president of SASA, was elect ed one of the I SA vice president s, and wrot e t hat the associat ion had no problem s wit h Sout h Africa - the cause of absence had been t he French governm ent. Baron Stander ( secret ary of the Christ m as Surfing Associat ion) , who t raveled t o t he com pet it ion, st ated in a t ext t o Zigzag ( Sout h African surf m agazine) that t he I SA had approved a resolut ion det erm ining t hat, for a count ry t o host t he World Cham pionship, Sout h Africans

should be allowed by it t o com pet e. 18 I f it did not do so, the headquarter would be changed. Surfing neit her m ent ioned t he subj ect nor t he absence of t he Sout h African t eam - a significant one, for t he reasons given and by Lom bert ’s praise at t he beginning of the report .

The coverage of t he 1982 cham pionship, held in Aust ralia, occupied a t hird page, j ust like t hat from 1978. ( Sharp , 1982, p. 28) The art icle present s as a “ everyone’s concern” whether t he US would ret ain t he t it le and whether Tom Curren would prove t o be t he best am at eur of t he world - in t he sequence, inform s t hat he had disput ed the Junior and Open categories, winning t he last one. I t gives prom inence t o t he US team , which was the aut hor - fourth placed in t he end of the

kneeboard - 19 , which, in part , perhaps explains t he em phasis on the count ry’s select ion. The loss of t he t it le 20 , besides revealing the expect at ion of vict ory, is

credit ed t o t he decision of the United St at es Surfing Federat ion ( USSF) t o t ake two surfers of each associat ion t hat com posed it , and not a select ion wit h t he best , regardless of t he region of origin. The focus of m ost of the t ext is t he beaches, t he waves and the final bat teries of each cat egory, wit h the respect ive result s.

Following the crit eria of part icipat ion in the int ernat ional com pet it ive surf, t he art icle and the t able wit h t he result s t reat Hawaii as a separat e t eam from t he USA. There was som et im es int ense rivalry bet ween t hem , as in 1984, when m em bers were on the verge of fight ing in t he sand during t he third st age. According to t he t ext , t his is due to t he at t itude of Hawaiians who, wit h no chance

18 This is the only reference to such a decision I have found so far. This evidence suggest s the source of inform ation and questions that m ay arise from the access, in the future, to the

docum entation of the federations.

19 Sharp was not on proj ect , but would do it eight m onths later as an intern. I n 1985, he was the associate editor, the second position in the writing hierarchy. At the end of the decade,

he becam e editor of m agazine. Surfing, v. 19, No. 10, Oct. 1983. Surfing, v. 21, No. 4, Abr. 1985. Sharp, Bill. Encyclopedia of Surfing. Retrieved June 16, 2016, from : < http: / / encyclopediaofsurfing.com / entries/ sharp- bill> .

20 The text hints that Australia won by team s, although it did not say that clearly. Consultation with other sources shows host country as cham pion.

of winning t he t it le by t eam s, began t o persecut e the Am ericans during t he bat t eries. ( Cart er, 1984, p. 72) I n professional surfing, Hawaiian athlet es com pet e as such ( and not as Am ericans) . I n am ateur surfing, the Hawaiian Surfing Associat ion ( HSA) is one of the regional ent it ies t hat const it ut e t he USSF, whose com pet it ions t he athlet es part icipat e in. However, when it com es t o int ernat ional event s under t he auspices of t he I SA, Hawaii sends an independent t eam . The cham pionships also had part icipat ion of Puert o Rico; “ France B” ( idem ) ;

“ Cont inent al USA” , “ USA Hawaii” , Tahit i, French I sles and France. 49 The changing nat ional represent at ions, which vary according t o t he sport ing m odalit y and the type of com pet it ion, are a subj ect lit t le explored in t he studies of t he sport . 21 Specific surveys on com pet it ions such as t he Am at eur World Cham pionships could also problem at ize t he classificat ion of sports as individual or collect ive, nat uralized in m any scient ific works. Alt hough it is cust om ary t o put surfing am ong the first , t he Cham pionship is played by t eam s, each represent ing a nat ion ( in fact , the sam e goes for com pet it ions of other m odalit ies considered individual, such as swim m ing) .

As for South Africa, according t o Thom pson ( 2015) , the Aust ralian Surfing Associat ion ( ASA) , responsible for t he organizat ion, “ excluded t he Sout h African am at eur t eam from t he 1982 World Surfing Cham pionships held in Brisbane ( ...) “ ( page 144) . Once again, Sout h African non- part icipat ion was silenced in Surfing coverage.

The coverage of 1984 was t he m ost critical one in relat ion t o the cham pionship it self and t o t he organizers, and t he m ost ext ensive one. The World Cham pionship was held in Sout hern California, at Oceanside, Vent ura and Hunt ingt on Beach, locat ed approxim at ely 40, 200 and 75 kilom et ers from San

Clem ent e, where t he Surfing newsroom was locat ed. 22 Occurred in beaches and cit ies usually obj ect of at t ent ion of Surfing, and organized by leaders and ent it ies belonging t o t he net work of cont act s of t he m agazine, t he cham pionship received a lot of at t ention.

The art icle begins by explaining t he proposal for t he World Cham pionship t o

be played concurrent ly wit h t he Los Angeles Olym pic Gam es, t o present the surf t o t he I OC leaders and persuade them t o accept it at the Olym pics ( Cart er, 1984, p.

21 Sporadically there was debate around the subj ect in Surfing, alm ost always through letters of readers. For exam ple: Surfing, v. 23, No. 4, Apr. 1987, page 24, 29. The coverage of t he

1988 World Cham pionship referred to "Hawaiians, who for som e reason still do not consider them selves part of the US"; the fact that the Puerto Ricans com peted separat ely from the US was naturalized ( without sim ilar questioning) . ( Varnes, 1988, p. 203) .

22 Surfing, v. 20, No. 1, page 25. Oceanside Pier is approxim ately 40 km from the center of San Clem ente. The beaches of the town of Ventura, about 200km . And Huntington Beach,

approxim ately 75km . Source: Estim ates m ade by m e from California coast m aps and Google Maps site tools. The m ain highways that currently cover the Californian coast were already in operation in the 1980s.

68) . However, t his possibilit y of advancem ent quickly disappears from t he text , which goes on t o describe various organizat ional problem s: the work of I an Cairns,

a m anager hired t o organize t he event had been under all expect ations; his hiring had been a last - m inute one, prevent ing him from having t he t im e t o properly plan t he com petit ion; t he sponsor ( St roh’s beer) had delayed signing t he cont ract , causing a delay in t he schedule due t o lack of financial resources.

According t o t he j ournalist , “ Despit e being plagued with various organizat ional problem s, t he World Cont est nonetheless showcased a st unning array of internat ional am at eur surfing t alent ( Cart er, 1984, p. 68) As an exam ple ( t he winner of t he final of one of the cat egories did not win the t itle) , t he t ext describes what he considers as an innovat ive and confusing form at of com pet it ion, t he ways to reach the t it le and t he cat egories in disput e ( m en, wom en, j unior, kneeboard and t eam s) . ( idem , p. 70)

The event last ed eight days ( idem , p. 71) . The accom m odat ion during t he first st age consist ed of t ent s inside a m ilit ary base ( Cam p Pendlet on) 23 -

part icipant s were even given m ilit ary clot hing t o wear. The report ironically refers t o t he “ Olym pic village” and com pares it t o a bedouin cam p. There were t hose who rent ed t railers ( Hawaiian federat ion) , paid for a hot el room or slept in t heir own car t o escape the accom m odat ion offered by the organizat ion ( idem , p. 68) .

As in alm ost every cham pionship, t he t op perform ers were Aust ralia, USA and Hawaii. According t o t he article, t he US t eam had been em bezzlem ent for several reasons, one of t hem t he suspension of athlet es for falsificat ion of school grades. New crit icism s as t o t he organizat ion had been em it t ed, as follows:

By the end of the two days of Ventura’s leg, everyone had discovered the pre- cancerous internal struggle that was com prom ising the overall quality of the Cham pionship ... nam ely, a power struggle and ideological polarization between Cairns and Dr. Couture of USSF.

I t [ the World Cham pionship] also failed as a cultural exchange, hitting a sour note when the U.S. team , per Coach Chuck Allen, refused to show up at an international cerem ony for a rededication of the Duke Kahanam oku m em orial at the entrance to the Pier. The Am erican coach had either taken offense to the Hawaiian com petitive tactics or was refusing to cooperate with Dr. Colin Couture's cultural gesture out of personal conflicts between the two.” ( Carter, 1984, p. 68- 71)

The two excerpt s address rivalry bet ween leaders involved in t he

23 The base occupies an area of over 500 square m iles and the entire coastal strip between Oceanside and San Clem ente, which includes such im portant waves as Trestles. I ntroduction

to Cam p Pendleton. Retrieved from : < http: / / www.pendleton.m arines.m il/ About/ I ntroduct ion.aspx> . An official m ap illustrating the extension of the base is available on: < http: / / www.m ccscp.com / wp- content/ uploads/ 2014/ 06/ Cam pPenMap.png> Retrieved on June 28, 2016.

organizat ion ( there are ot her m ent ions t o the disput e bet ween Allen and Couture) and point them as fact ors that underm ined t he event . The second sect ion goes beyond, classifying it as a failure from t he point of view of cult ural exchanges - precisely t he aspect considered m ost valuable in a report already quot ed.

The m ot ives alleged for t he absence of t he US t eam at the cerem ony range from ret aliat ion for unsport sm anlike conduct and pet t iness ( personal revenge) . I n any case, this is a t ribut e around t he st atue of the Hawaiian celebrat ed around the world as the father of surfing, at the end of a World Cham pionship held in the USA. The m elancholy t one picks up t he init ial t hem e: “ The Olym pic Officials, who had prom ised t o at t end som e of t he cerem onies on t he final day, never did show up. Luckily for am at eur surfing they weren't t here t o see the sport t ake one giant st ep backwards.” ( Cart er, 1984, p. 77)

Sout h Africa was again excluded “ despit e the inst it ut ional power it had ( ...) at I SA - Tim Millward, president of SASA, was also t he I SA execut ive direct or and had been chosen as t he I SA com pet it ion direct or for t he Californian event “ ( Thom pson, 2015, 115) . Silenced in the long st ory, the subj ect had been the subj ect of an edit orial and an art icle in t he Sept em ber 1984 issue, and let ters

com m ent ing on it in subsequent edit ions. 24 The edit orial posit ions it self against t he exclusion of South Africa, considered an int rusion of polit ics in t he sport , and com pares it t o the boycot t of t he USSR and East ern European count ries t o t he Olym pic Gam es of Los Angeles. ( Cart er, 1984, p.5) The art icle announces that “ not iceably absent will be t he st rong South African Team , unable t o com pet e due t o am at eur rules regarding com pet it ion with apart heid- sanct ioning governm ents.” ( George, 1984, p. 80) . Despit e t he st range and am biguous const ruct ion of t he phrase, I draw at t ent ion t o t he rare use of t he word apartheid.

One of t he let t ers from a leader of t he East ern Surfing Associat ion ( ESA) cont est s m uch of t he edit orial and art icle, including t he version st ating t hat Sout h Africa would not part icipat e because of am at eur rules: 25

Presum ably he ( ...) refer[ s] to Aust ralian rules ( ...). The USSF, according to President Couture, recognizes no such rules. Sout h Africa was indeed invited to participate in this event. The South African Surfriders Association's President, Tim Millward, graciously and unselfishly declined the invitation because it was felt by his association that their presence m ight result in dem onstrations of a political nature which could m ar the positive spirit of the World

24 I raise a hypothesis here: the coverage in the period prior to the event itself tends to focus on political issues and issues other than the actual com petitive issue ( perform ance, results,

tactical assessm ents, etc.) , for one structural reason: the com petition is still not occurring. To the ext ent that there is an editorial decision to address the event, other elem ents need to

be invoked - and there is room for political discussion. I am unaware of papers that discuss this issue, which could represent an advance for the research of sports in Com m unication.

Contest. ( Hennigsen, 1984, p. 13)

I discuss five point s from t his sect ion. First ly, t he let t er ignores t he apart heid/ boycot t t hem e and denies any relat ionship between it and the absence of t he South African t eam . Secondly, it expresses the view, shared by m any agent s involved wit h surfing, that : a) sport and polit ics are dist inct fields - in t his case, the affirm at ion of a “ posit ive spirit ” supposedly inherent t o t he event is opposed to a negat ive view of polit ical m anifest at ions; and b) that any act ion considered of a polit ical nat ure m eans an undue int erference in t he sport ing sphere. Such a view is oft en expressed by sport s officials, especially in the fram ework of int ernat ional federat ions. Boot h ( 1998) and Nauright ( 1997) describe and analyze dozens of exam ples in ent it ies of different sport s and levels ( world/ int ernat ional, cont inent al, nat ional et c.) . Obviously, the sports field m aint ains solid and m ult iple relat ions wit h t he universe of polit ics and wit h the st at e - as, for exam ple, em phasized by t he 1978 World Cham pionship - , which does not prevent its agents from m obilizing such discourse when it suit s them .

Thirdly, Millward was a SASA officer and held a high posit ion in I SA and the organizat ion of t he cham pionship it self. I do not know t o what ext ent he was an ally of ESA and USSF and/ or whether t he let t er cont ained inform at ion t hat was cut in t he edit ion. I n any case, the respect ful t one of praise for Millward’s at t it ude and t he fact t hat US surfing associat ions were am ong the rare part ners who offered SASA t he opport unit y t o hold int ernat ional com pet it ions bet ween 1976 and 1991 suggest so.

Fourt hly, the m agazine cont est ed part of the let t er’s claim s, but not those about the boycot t . I n any case, the divergence bet ween the let t er and t he version present ed by Surfing shows t hat even looking at a single publicat ion it is possible t o com e up wit h reasonably different explanat ions and narrat ives for t he sam e phenom enon. This point s t o t he relevance of taking t he let t er sect ion int o account : even with the lim it at ions t hat, by definit ion, exist in this space, it is an arena t hat allows t he expression of different voices. This reinforces m y argum ent that surfing m agazines are bot h agent s and arenas where several agent s express t heir positions ( Fort es, 2011) .

Fift hly, how m uch the st ories of surfing and it s m edia can benefit from access t o archives of sport ing ent it ies - which, t o m y knowledge, have not been the subj ect of research in both t he US and South Africa except for som e correspondence used by Laderm an ( available in a m useum ) . Docum ent s as let t ers exchanged bet ween ent it ies and their leaders; between ent it ies and ot her act ors ( nat ional governm ent s, st at e bodies at different levels of adm inist rat ion, com panies and/ or sponsors) , which m ay be kept in archives of sport s bodies or public bodies, Fift hly, how m uch the st ories of surfing and it s m edia can benefit from access t o archives of sport ing ent it ies - which, t o m y knowledge, have not been the subj ect of research in both t he US and South Africa except for som e correspondence used by Laderm an ( available in a m useum ) . Docum ent s as let t ers exchanged bet ween ent it ies and their leaders; between ent it ies and ot her act ors ( nat ional governm ent s, st at e bodies at different levels of adm inist rat ion, com panies and/ or sponsors) , which m ay be kept in archives of sport s bodies or public bodies,

I t rem ains t o be seen what collect ions exist and, of t hese, which ones are available for research. Thus, it seem s t o m e that researchers will face the rout ine difficult ies when it com es t o access t o sport s associat ions ( Melo, Drum ond, Fort es and Sant os, 2013) . Such was m y case wit h I SA, as I report ed. The ent it y also has t he specificit y of having changed it s headquarters several t im es over t he years - in pract ice, the president of a nat ional federat ion t ook over I SA, but cont inued t o operat e from t he national associat ion’s prem ises - result s in docum ent at ion scat t ered across archives, cit ies and count ries. And, t o the ext ent that such posit ions were not rem unerat ed, m uch depended on the effort s of individuals; and it is unlikely that nat ional inst it ut ions would have adequat e physical space for the filing of docum ent s; it becom es com plicat ed t o know what docum ent at ion exist s, where it is locat ed, and whet her it is accessible for research.