Classification of local

[marcus]

funny how history repeats itself
a spot in the southern ocean called australia is taken by others and assumed no one was using it, this was 200 years ago and they claimed it as theyre own
a few years ago some morons turn up to botany bay and did the same thing

update on that history lesson
my flatmate comes out and puts a burnt copy of theyre dvd in my grand ma's dvd player i inherited, ive had a few beers.
he does this while im watching tv to get a reaction.
i go to the fridge, grab a beer and walk out.
come back and snap that f'n dvd in half and into bin.
somtimes its the principal of the thing.
sorry to change the subject

[vb]

Marcus, what on earth are you on about?

[puurri]

funny how history repeats itself
a spot in the southern ocean called australia is taken by others and assumed no one was using it, this was 200 years ago and they claimed it as theyre own
a few years ago some morons turn up to botany bay and did the same thing

update on that history lesson
my flatmate comes out and puts a burnt copy of theyre dvd in my grand ma's dvd player i inherited, ive had a few beers.
he does this while im watching tv to get a reaction.
i go to the fridge, grab a beer and walk out.
come back and snap that f'n dvd in half and into bin.
somtimes its the principal of the thing.
sorry to change the subject

HEHHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEH.

[marcus]

yeah i should chill out eh, lol

[Nicko]

Interesting topic. What about locals vs. locals? i.e. if there is one local in the lineup and another who each jostle for priority, who has it? The idea of localism is pretty ordinary I reckon. I would classify myself as a local at a place like Curly, but the fact is I've actually surfed DY Point for even longer. So where am I a local? And what does this entitle me? And why? It hurts me to say this as I feel a local at both of those places, but no one person actually deserves a better place in the lineup. It ascribes ownership that I believe none of us are entitled to.

I have surfed these places for more than 20 years now, and I have demonstrated what I feel is a level of commitment by working my ass off and making specific choices in life to buy a house in the area. This was a conscious decision in my early years so that I could surf the breaks I loved both during the week and on weekends. I would suggest that it's a sign of serious commitment to do that. Do I get waves at these locations? S&*t yeah. Do I get every one I want? Not always. Do I look down on others who have made different choices? No F&*king way. There's always going to be someone who thinks they're more local than you. With crowds these days there's always going to have to be an element of give and take. What you have in the water are different forms of human behaviour for a variety of reasons. Feelings of localism often allow abberrant behaviour to be justified by those perpetrating it. And this is the problem I have with the concept of localism in surfing.

[Beanpole]

No matter how local the yokel you should always give a guy a wave or two. I hate it when it gets like a feeding frenzy and you see guys desperately trying to nab their 1000th wave of the day while a few others sit politely waiting for just the odd missed wave. Sure you get the lions share but you don't have to gorge yourself until you make everyone puke.

[Jimi]

No matter how local the yokel you should always give a guy a wave or two. I hate it when it gets like a feeding frenzy and you see guys desperately trying to nab their 1000th wave of the day while a few others sit politely waiting for just the odd missed wave. Sure you get the lions share but you don't have to gorge yourself until you make everyone puke.

spot on... this debate lately about localism and its resurgence? lately is bullshit, most surfers arnt a local anywhere anyway. and when was the last time anyone surfed a relatively crowded spot in Sydney and got given a wave from a 'local' because they were being respectfull and sitting back a little??? being respectful in sydney these days means u go home after getting fu@k all waves, and all of them scraps. Out of Sydney ive been given waves by friendly people in the line-up, only happens in Sydney when you get 5-10 or less people are out, otherwise these days the biggest dickhead in the lineup (who happens to rip) gets the most waves, 'local' or not.

[Jimi]

life can be cruel.....
which is why i usually stay away from the crowds on the best banks. paddle out to a peak with a tenth of the crowd, even when half the amount of waves coming in, i still get a shitload more waves than if i was to hunt in the pack

[Toby Wan]

i find that the good locals who command respect don't tend to demand respect..

in return i tend to offer respect unconditionally in the surf to anyone until they do something sketchy - at which time i just try and ignore or steer clear of them..

the northern beaches of sydney are my stomping grounds, but seeing as i'm not a resident of any beach, i'm far from being a local at any of them..

at the same time i am able to recognise different people at different beaches after surfing at them semi regularly over the years, so that gives me solace that i'm not just some blow-in-kook..

being that i'm not a local, i tend to try and be respectful to that fact - i give myself 2 or 3 waves in the zone in any session to prove that i'm not a gumby and if i fail to do that, i move down the lineup..



to be honest, I kinda feel that the 'localism' on the beaches is dying off.. at least the crazy localism - you still get a few w@nkers thinking they own a particular part of H20 real estate but even in the 10 years i've been surfing (was a booger grom before that) i've noticed this trend..

i think the fact that more and more people are hitting the water means there's a growing number of unfamiliar faces popping up (i have a theory that this all comes down to cheaper wetsuits available, but that's another story) and that some true locals have really started to give up trying to enforce their localism on people - as if they're helpless to this trend..

in a way i think that's a little sad, but it obviously helps my situation until i move closer to the water..

i think you can really tell if you're a local based on regularity and consistancy, not your residence - i don't think that this entitles you to anything special in the surf other than the experience to know where the best spot is...

[bood]

i don't give a rats-rrs who is a local really, but anybody that starts claiming the right to drop in or snake or gets bent out of shape because you drop in on them on the basis that they are a "local" is a W*NKER.

stupid thread, "localism" is the domain the insecure.

[Natho]

Ha Ha,

reminds me of an incident last summer when i was surfing at Mona Vale.

A bunch of bodyboarding wankers were trying to tell a Mona Vale 'local' that they were more 'local' than him because "we live on the hill man". I mean give me a break.

So to these wankers (because they lived 'on the hill') consider themselves more 'local' than others. This was despite the fact that the guy they were telling off was in fact more 'local' than them and has been surfing the joint since these clowns were in nappies.

I also hate it when some guys try and bring their 'local' attitude to other beaches. Reminds me of an incident last year with an older Newport 'local' bringing his 'local' attitude to another beach . Anyway I won't go into it and no disrespect to Newport 'locals' in general. And no it wasn't NC or his little bro, though the little bro likes to drop in at any beach

[rabbity7]

Localism in sydney is stuffed. It doesn't work cause everyone lives nearby and there are so many damn people. Its just people with big ego trips stealing waves. Localism in small coastal towns is fair enough and generally works well. Everyone gets there fair share of waves and tourists get all the waves they want if they aren't a tool. If they are a tool they get chased up the beach. It all works out fine. In conclusion...I'm sick of sydney. The surf culture is way too messed up.

[SDC]

Hey Natho - How's the gash in your head??

[Lucky Al]

it's not localism or local-ness, but i reckon one of the best things you can do as a surfer is commit to a certain surf spot, even if you live on the other side of the world from it. give it time - an entire surfing life! - and magic will come of it.

[Natho]

Ha Ha SDC well the head is much better thanks champ. Took 6 stitches to close it up but should be back in the water at the weekend.

[dUg]

I've only "lived" 5 minutes walk from my local for 4 years, but surfed it for about 15 years before that. In that time I have seen plenty of "locals" come and go, some who lived in the backstreets near the beach, and others who drove 30 minutes to get here on a good day.

Living on such a fickle stretch of coast like I do, where the surf rarely tops 4', calling yourself a local is hardly a badge of honour - yet there are plenty who do ( sadly ). I would never paddle out and say "f*** off, I am a local", or refer to myself as such in conversation.

But I do enjoy many of the benefits Ringmaster described, and this must be purely because I have been around for so long. It's certainly not a reward for reaching dazzling levels of surfing proficiency LOL.

Nonetheless, on the (very) rare good days here it sure is a lot easier to get waves now, compared to when I was a quiet, shitscared grom. I used to be terrified of getting in the way or somehow irritating those grumpy old b@stards that lived here.

Now I am one of them!!!

[Revolution]

To be a local you gotta paddle out, paddle straight to the inside, burn everyone, and be a total wanker. For example see Dee Why point on a good day, hi 'bigbazmaster'