No Surprise … Surfing is California’s State Sport (and Ventura’s soul)…

by Visit Ventura

In August of 2018, then Governor Jerry Brown (wisely) signed a bill officially declaring surfing California’s sport… …

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… which was nice, but also a little like declaring wine the official beverage of France. Surfing’s roots run long and deep through California, and Ventura has played a big, though quietly understated, role in California’s surfing story…

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California has 1,100 miles of pristine coastline, lined with a pearl string of surf breaks, from easy rolling points to powerful, thrilling, hand-you-your-teeth beachbreaks (the Newport Beach Wedge, for one)…

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Surfing originated with the Polynesian people and arrived in California courtesy of surfers from Hawaii…

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Since then, California has revolutionized the sport…

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Surf forecasting and the neoprene wetsuit were both invented in California. Surfers were thrilled with the coming of the wetsuit. Mixed feelings remain regarding surf cams and surf forecasting…

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It’s estimated that surfing brings California over $6 billion in annual retail sales, though surfers don’t really care. Surfing isn’t about legislative proclamations, or trophies, or sales, or any of the outside world’s noise. Surfing is a quiet thing. Quiet and irresistible. Anyone who has dropped into a wave, heart surging as the world falls away, understands…

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“No other sport represents the California Dream better than surfing — riding the waves of opportunity and living in harmony with nature,” said Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi who originally introduced the bill.

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Inspired? Check out our Guide to Surfing in Ventura. Top image by Maya Sacks.