Exploring surfers’ perceptions of municipal regulations using grounded theory

Contested surf tourism resources in the Maldives

“…Sixth, the existence of local-scale conflicts between individual surfers or groups of surfers is well documented, including phenomena such as surf rage and localism, surf fashion and tribalism, and privatization of specific surf breaks (Anderson, 2016;Ball, 2015;Beaumont & Brown, 2016;Buckley, 2003a;Deats, Martinez, Shearer, & Shearer, 2016;Usher, Goff, & Gomez, 2016). Here, however, we take a broader perspective, treating surf breaks as contested tourism resources, and analysing the political and practical processes adopted by competing surf stakeholders.…”

Surfing with Bourdieu! A Qualitative Analysis of the Fluid Power Relations among Surfers in the Line-Ups

“…“Surf-onomics” is a term that describes the economic boost received by areas around popular surf spots because such spots attract a growing number of surfers, which triggers local economic development ( The Economist 2016). As the popularity of surfing increases and the capitalist process of the surfing culture advances, overcrowding has become a serious issue in many popular surf spots (see Preston-Whyte 2002; Scheibel 1995; Taylor 2013; Usher et al 2016). In contrast, there are still a number of mythical and secret spots without large crowds of surfers, mainly because of accessibility, required skills and experience, and localism (Bandeira 2014; Beaumont and Brown 2016; Daskalos 2007; Evers 2009; Scheibel 1995; Sweeney 2005; Waitt and Frazer 2012), such as Central California’s Mavericks (Beal and Smith 2010).…”

“…In addition to this division, social values conflict further complicates power relations among surfers. Vaske, Carothers, Donnelly, and Baird (2000) conducted research on alpine sports conflict between skiers and snowboarders who share limited natural resources, as in slopes and terrains (see also Usher et al 2016). Both groups have their own cultural institutions, and conflict arises out of goal interference and cultural dissimilarities as the groups have to share the limited resources (Vaske et al 2007).…”

“…Just as on alpine slopes, in ocean water, varied surfboards such as longboards, shortboards, stand-up paddle boards, and bodyboards have become an important part of surfers’ personal and collective identities. In short, surfers have developed their own cultural divisions and institutions, depending on what and how they ride (Gonzales 2015; Preston-Whyte 2002; Usher et al 2016; Waitt and Frazer 2012).…”

“…The uneven distribution of quality waves and the “common-pool resource” issue have become the norm (see Rider 1998). Under certain conditions, conflict over limited resources becomes unavoidable (Usher, Goff, and Gomez 2016). Here arises an unanswered question: what determines who gets the waves?…”