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) .
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Coverage of the Amateur
World Surfing
Championship (1978-1990)
Contracam po – Brazilian Journal of Com m unicat ion is a quart erly publicat ion of the Graduate Program m e in Com m unicat ion Studies ( PPGCOM) at Flum inense Federal University ( UFF) . I t aim s to contribut e t o crit ical reflect ion within the field of Media Studies, being a space for dissem inat ion of research and scient ific thought .
Contracam po e- I SSN 2238- 2577 Nit erói ( RJ) , 36 ( 2)
aug/ 2017- nov/ 2017
Volume 36
issue 2 / 2017
RAFAEL FORTES
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
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 t3 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
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, the three 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 surf4 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 was 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:
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 SF5 and adm it t ed t he part icipat ion of professional at hlet es6. Aft er a hiat us 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
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 20t h 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
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 7t h 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 ries10 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 7t h 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
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
1978 Cham pion Sout h Africa
1982 Did not com pet e Aust ralia
1984 Result s not available California
1986 Did not com pet e England
1988 Did not com pet e Puert o Rico
1990 Did not com pet e Japan
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 France15; 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
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) .
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.
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
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 le20, 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.
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
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
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 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
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) .
are im port ant in order to m ove t owards com plet e and com plex hist ory of the sport s m edia and surfing, which encom pass it s different dim ensions and give priorit y t o aspect s t hat are not explored in the exist ing works - with few except ions, such as Boot h’s ( 2001) research and the debat e between him and other aut hors ( Boot h, 2012a; Boot h, 2012b; Jaggard, 2012; Phillips, 2012; Phillips, Boot h e Jaggard, 2012) - , as t he inst it utional spheres ( clubs, associat ions, federat ions) , the views of coaches, ent repreneurs and leaders, polit ical and int ernat ional relat ions and so fort h.
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.
* * *
expanded significant ly, far surpassing the horizon of t he fans.
The art icle m ent ions 187 com pet it ors from 20 count ries, while t he t able wit h result s list s 18 t eam s ( Griggs, 1987, p. 35) . Again, there was no reference t o Sout h Africa’s absence. The text em phasizes t he com pet it ion it self ( perform ance, result s, degree of just ice in t he j udges’ not es) and does not address t he organizat ional and polit ical aspect s. Again, I t urn t o Thom pson ( 2015) , who worked with South African sources:
Robin de Kock, of SASA, covered the 1986 World Surfing Cham pionships held in Newquay, UK, in Septem ber and provided a clear indication of the isolation status of South African am ateur surfing and a perception of the international political atm osphere: the Springboks were absent - again. Unfortunately, few team s have ever m issed the Boks ( ...) I t is terrible to be an outcast - perhaps there is an irony there” ( page 116) .
A federat ion official conduct ing com pet it ion coverage for a m agazine highlight s the m ult iple roles played by individuals and t he exist ing relat ionships wit hin t he surf, different iat ing it - and it s m edia - from what happens wit h coverage of consolidat ed m odalit ies on t he int ernat ional scene ( such as football and t ennis) . The m ent ion of irony can be art iculat ed t o t he count ry’s segregat ionist policy, which prom ot ed “ forced rem ovals of m illions of non- whit es” ( Nauright , 1997, page 186) . From t he vision of a SASA leader, t he author affirm s:
26
From this point of view, it can be argued that I SA’s position [ of banning South African participation in com petitions] was m ore m aterial and pragm atic in m aintaining its m em bers, and to be in a good position in the eyes of other international sports federat ions, than a political position against sport in South Africa ( Thom pson,
2015, page 116) .27
I believe t hat the search for inclusion in the Olym pic Gam es has contribut ed t o t he I SA posit ion.
The aut hor t hen m ent ions t he SASA leader again, for whom t he problem was not the federat ions t hem selves, but t he fact that t hey received resources from t heir nat ional governm ent s and pressed them in favor of the boycot t . I n any event, t he argum ent seem s t o m e t o be well- founded, alt hough there is no access t o I SA docum ent ation. From what can be inferred from Thom pson’s narrative, at no t im e did SASA ever be suspended by the I SA, cont rary t o what happened in m any m odalit ies.
* * *
Before beginning, the 1988 World Cham pionship was t he subj ect of an edit orial crit icizing t he select ive crit eria for t he US t eam , because Kelly Slat er, considered by t he publicat ion as the best am ateur of the count ry, was left out. The edit orial com pares t he sit uat ion wit h that of t ennis: “ John McEnroe and Jim m y Connors don't win every m at ch t hey play, but t here'd be hell t o pay if at least one of them - because of their past t rack records wasn't chosen t o represent t he U.S. in t he Davis Cup.” ( Varnes, 1988, p. 48, 50) . Tennis was the sport m ost used as a benchm ark in t he pages of surfing m agazines of t he t im e ( excluding sport s direct ly linked t o it , such as skat eboarding, bodyboarding and snowboarding) . I t seem s t o m e t hat this is explained by the popularit y28 of t he m odalit y in the count ry, by the presence in t he open television and by having, t hroughout t he 20t h cent ury, idols of t he count ry am ong t he best of t he world. I n the specific case of t his m ent ion, there is also t he coincidence of t he event s being com pet it ions of select ions in sport s m ost ly seen as individual and whose at t ent ions are dom inat ed by the respect ive professional circuit s.
A not e lat er said that the event was “ scheduled for February in Puert o Rico” , where athlet es from “ wave riders of em erging surfing nat ions” could threat en t he hegem ony of t he three powers. The edit or was opt im ist ic about t he num ber of count ries and part icipant s: Hundreds of surfers from m ore t han t hirt y nat ions are expect ed t o invade ( ...) and prom ot ers are already billing t he ( ...) cont est as t he biggest ever.” ( Varnes, 1988, p. 60) .
The double page opening t he t en dedicat ed t o the World Cham pionship, which last ed 11 days, st am ped Brazilian Fabio Gouveia, winner of t he Open cat egory ( Varnes, 1988, p. 130- 7) . Anot her phot o showed the Aust ralian t eam celebrat ing t he t it le. The opening paragraph sum m arizes the coverage: “ At hlet ic com pet it ion, goodwill, pat riot ism , polit ics and sport sm anship fused t oget her at am at eur surfing’s pinnacle in a m anner never before seen in surfing circles, ( ...) com m only associat ed wit h Olym pic-class act ivit ies.” ( I dem , p. 133)
The praise was ext ended t o “ Puerto Rico Surfing Federat ion ( PRSF) President and current I nt ernat ional Surfing Associat ion ( I SA) President ( ...) ” by t he sponsors obt ained: surf com panies ( G&S - Gordon & Sm it h) and from out side t he sport - Bacardi, Coca- Cola, Suzuki and the “ six figures worth of financial backing in exchange for a t it le sponsorship” in the nam e of t he event - The 1988 Budweiser World Surfing Tit les” .( I dem , p. 134)
Such resources were added t o the support of t he Puert o Rican governm ent , which “ volunt eered t o feed, house and provide securit y for com pet it ors” . On the
occasion of t he opening cerem ony, “ ( ...) cit y m ayors and t he island’s t op polit ical leaders t urned out t o welcom e t he com pet it ors.” . According t o t he text , “ wasn’t a surf cont est – it was an invasion” of 400 surfers from 26 count ries. The “ with a fervency unm at ched in the annals of surfing com pet it ion” wit h which t he Puert o Ricans dedicat ed t hem selves ensured o “ pulling off a successfull event ” ( idem , p. 134) .
St ill am ong the posit ive words about t he organizat ion, there was praise for t he presence of the public ( “ crowds ranging from 20,000 t o 40,000 people packed t he cham pionship every day” , wit h 50,000 on the last day when the final of each cat egory was played) and night ly program m ing ( wit h Ram ones show, part ies and com pet it ive pool gam es played bar t ables) .
There was crit icism concerning the behavior of US t eam athlet es - in sm aller num bers and m ilder t han in previous years. The art icle highlight ed t he perform ance of the Brazilian t eam , for t he first t im e list ed am ong the holders of the t it le ( I dem , p. 201, 203) .
Surfing devot ed a lot of space t o t he event, considering it s param et ers at t he t im e: added t o t he m at erial and the int erview wit h Chris Brown, winner of the j unior cat egory, there were m ore t han t en full pages of coverage, m ade by four professionals ( t wo for text s and t wo phot ographers) . Even wit h such resources, the silencing pat t ern on t he absence of Sout h Africa rem ained. Alt hough quot ed in t he opening paragraph of t he report, the m entions of polit ics were lim it ed t o t he passages cit ed: governm ent support and presence of officials in the opening cerem ony - again, wit h praise for t he art iculat ion between it and t he sport .
Japan hosted t he 1990 World Cham pionship, which received six pages of coverage. ( Callahan, 1990, p. 152- 6, 158) . As usual, the subj ect focused on t he perform ance of athlet es and t eam s, the out com e of the st ages ( the cham pionship cont inued to be played in t hree prelim inary st ages and a final) , winners, t eam score, wave condit ions et c. I t praised t he perform ance of som e “ unknown Brazilians” and coach Avelino Bast os and highlight ed the part icipat ion of Kelly Slat er. There were m ent ions of host part ies host ed by t he Aust ralians and not able beer consum pt ion. The t ext underscored t he effort s of t he U.S. team m em bers, who in t he end were defeat ed by t he Aust ralians ( again t eam cham pions) and did not win any cat egory. The final result list s 16 t eam s. (Surfing, 1990, p. 126) . No
word was said about the absence of Sout h Africa.
Final considerations
Cham pionships held bet ween 1978 and 1990. As for t he first obj ect ive, t he coverages em phasize t he effect ively com pet it ive aspect s, such as sea condit ions, t alent and perform ance of athlet es and t eam s, and the developm ent of com pet it ions ( who passed t he phase, who was a pot ent ial cham pion, what t he prognoses and chances of individual t it le and t eam s were) . A com m on feat ure was t he t ext beginning with expect at ions regarding the perform ance of t he US t eam and som e m em ber considered part icularly prom ising ( during t he period under review, Tom Curren and Kelly Slat er) . Surfing circulat ed in dozens of count ries, but it was produced in the US, m ost ly by Nort h Am ericans ( wit h cont ribut ions from Sout h Africans, Aust ralians and Brit ons) and t o Am erican readers, which explains t he at t ent ion dedicat ed t o t he count ry’s t eam . I n addit ion, proxim it y seem s t o have been a factor regarding the ext ent of coverage: the largest t ook place at events in t he USA ( 1984 and 1988) .
Concerning t he second obj ect ive, in m ost cases, the absence of Sout h Africa was silenced. The rare m ent ion of non- part icipat ion was alm ost always given before t he event s; except in one case ( 1984) , t hey were very short . The word apart heid was used only once and no paragraph was writ t en t o context ualize t he sit uat ion.
The em phasis on t he com pet it ive aspect s and t he lack of em phasis given t o t he polit ical relat ions prior t o each edit ion of t he com pet it ion - which, aft er all, det erm ined t he exclusion of t he Sout h African t eam - were a general feat ure of the coverage. Even when reasonable space was devot ed t o the organizat ion and explicit ly m ent ioned polit ical issues ( in 1984 and 1988) , t he edit orial choice of silencing t he Sout h African case rem ained t he sam e. There was crit icism concerning t he relat ionship bet ween sport and polit ics when t he boycot t was approached, but t he governm ent support for the cham pionships used t o be norm ally praised.
The focus on aspect s st rict ly linked t o perform ance in covering the World Cham pionship brings surfing coverage closer t o t hat of j ournalism in general, when it com es t o covering sport ing events.29 The except ion was the coverage of t he 1984 World Cham pionship, which negat ively highlighted frict ion between Unit ed St at es officials, who were cit ed as the m ain cause of com pet it ion problem s.
For t he m om ent , I am working wit h the general hypot hesis t hat South Africa’s relevance in the int ernat ional surfing scene is an explanat ory fact or for the st ance t aken by m ost of the agent s of the sport , who opposed t he boycot t. The count ry had great weight in several aspect s, som e of which were addressed in this art icle: leaders and entit ies act ively part icipat ed in the organizat ion of professional and am at eur surfing; Sout h African at hlet es st ood out in com pet it ions - som e, like
29 However, I do not know about papers that favor the investigation of this issue and allow
cousins Michael and Shaun Tom son, becam e world idols of t he sport ( both, by t he way, cont ribut ed t o Surfing; the first one worked for it for years) ; t he cham pionships accom plished t here m ade up a relevant part of the professional world circuit ( in t erm s of cash prizes, point s for the ranking and good waves) ; com panies host ed in it sponsored athlet es and com pet it ions; t he South African m arket was im port ant to t he m ult inat ional surfers; t he vast coast line is a source of qualit y waves, m any of t hem unexplored or lit t le explored; som e of t hese waves are highly valued in t he surf subcult ure, at least since Cape Francis’ com plim ent ary present at ion as t he perfect wave, in Bruce Brown’s The Endless Sum m er, in t he first half of t he 1960s; as one writ er put it , “ in Sout h Africa lies t he oldest and well-est ablished cult ure of surfing out side t he US and Australia” ( warshaw, 2003. p. 552- 4) . However, as such relevance unfolds in m ult iple respects, and as Surfing has rarely explicit ly posit ioned it self on the subj ect , only at t he end of t he research will it be possible t o m ake st at em ent s about t he period as a whole.
The relat ively sm all space for t he syst em at ic coverage of am at eur surfing in t he m agazine m ay be one reason why t here are few direct references t o apartheid. As suggested by the dat a and the bibliography worked so far, t he boycot t in am at eur surfing was broader t han in professional surfing.30
Finally, the art icle point s t o an aspect ignored by the bibliography t hat deals wit h surfing and the sport ing boycot t of Sout h Africa: t he role of South African leaders in int ernat ional ent it ies. From t he data analyzed so far, it seem s t hat even am ongst the agent s claim ing t he boycot t , the suspension or expulsion of Sout h African entit ies and leaders from t he organizat ional fields of am at eur and professional surfing was not advocat ed - and, if advocat ed, the posit ion was unsuccessful. Basil Lom berg’s role in the creat ion of I SA and the rest ruct uring of t he Am at eur World Surfing Cham pionship suggest s that, considering the st ructural organizat ional difficult ies of com pet it ive am at eur surfing on an int ernat ional scale and ot her charact erist ics of surfing during t he 1970s, it was unt hinkable t o exclude t he count ry. Thus, for the t im e being, such difficult ies, as well as t he relat ive weight of Sout h Africa ( as already point ed out ) and t he relevant place occupied by their leaders seem t o be im port ant explanat ory fact ors for t he lack of consensus on the boycot t , alt hough, in pract ice, t he count ry has been left out of t he cham pionships held bet ween 1980 and 1992.
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