A case study of benefits acquired by surfers in Jæren, Norway

Abstract

Poster presented at the Master of Science Graduation 2015 held at the University of Stavanger (UiS)

Full text

Introduction and purpose of the study
•Surfing is a sport deeply connected with images of sandy beaches,
blue sea, bright sun and tanned bodies (Booth, 2004; Langseth,
2012). However, surfing in Norway, a ‘cold water’ surf destination
does not induce any of the prominent regular surf images
(Langseth 2012). Surfers in Norway surf year round, they expose
themselves to extreme weather conditions; freezing cold water,
strong currents and heavy storms.
•Traditional theoretical viewpoints on extreme sports and extreme
sports participants have speculated that participation is about
risk-taking (Brymer, 2010; Brymer & Schweitzer, 2012) and
adrenaline seeking (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2013), a channel for
irresponsible individuals with unhealthy connection to fear
(Brymer & Schweitzer, 2012). However, these theoretical
methodologies may display judgments that do not necessarily
pertain to participants’ lived experience (Brymer, 2005; Brymer &
Oades, 2008; Brymer, 2010).
•The main aim of this research is to identify the benefits acquired
by Norwegian surfers surfing in cold water along the Jæren coast,
south the city of Stavanger in Norway.
This research addresses three research questions:
1. When and how did surfing commence in Norway?
2. What is the inclusion process in the Jæren surfing subculture?
3. What are the benefits acquired by cold water surfers in Norway?
Theory
Despite the popularity of surfing, very scarce empirical social
research has been conducted on the sport.
•Surfing as a sport activity is interrelated with a number of fields,
including lifestyle sports, extreme sports, serious leisure, sport
tourism and surf tourism which are all thoroughly discussed in
this study. See Figure 1.
•A phenomenological method adopting qualitative research techniques
including in-depth interviews and observations was chosen for the
study.
•In-depth semi-structured interviews, lasting 40 to 120 minutes, were
conducted with 13 veteran surfers in Norway. The discussions were led
by the researcher, recorded and transcribed for subsequent analysis.
•The chosen research design was found to be the most suitable
approach to provide in-depth understanding of the interviewees’
subjective experiences, allowing the researcher to understand and
interpret each individual participant’s lived experience (Kvale, 1983).
Environmental benefits
“The whole kind of like personal situation where you actually are in
the water and you feel, first thing you feel very humble because you’re
in Mother Nature and everything is out of your control. Yeah, I bet like
all the surfers have been saying that. The humble feeling of being in
something you don’t have any control over” (P-6, Male, 27).
Health benefits
“You do start caring about yourself a little bit more like me getting
older, health wise. That’s also a benefit of being passionate about
something which involves physical fitness coz you do wanna keep
doing what you do. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t care that much
about myself “(P-7, Male, 45 years).
Personal Well-being
“(…) For me, I felt that I was not succeeding so much maybe as a single
parent alone and I’m feeling lonesome. I was succeeding in the sea
(laughter) and I experienced that “Oh, yeah, I did it. I rode this wave”
(…) I used the sea as kind of a therapy and I always felt more rested to
get home with the kids after a session. So after a while I didn’t use it as
a therapy because it was just for fun and for pleasure and something
you cannot do without. Just have to surf (...)” (P13, Female, 37 years).
Social bonding
“I think we’re lucky in Norway with the scene being so small and we
know each other really well. And we’ve got a good community and
there are a lot of good people in it, but it is an individual sport” says
one of the informants” (P-11, Female, 32 years).
Self-esteem and feeling proud
“When the Crown Prince is here, he also kite-surf, windsurf, surf and
stand up pedal. And I have equipment. So I take him out, normally he’s
here to open the concert house or museum so he send me a message
“Well I have three hours, what can we do?” so we go out. So that’s kind
of special too, that the shop and my position has given me the
opportunity to go to spend maybe three hours with the future king of
Norway, not everyone can do that (…) I’m a royal surf guide of Jæren”
(P-2, Male, 50 years).
Conclusions
•The interpretation and analysis of qualitative materials showed
that participants gain a wide range of benefits by surfing actively
year round. Surfers reported experiencing feelings of freedom,
playfulness, strong social cohesion with other members in the
surfing subculture, a deep connection to nature, physical and mental
health benefits and an overall enhanced quality of life.
•The study contributes to understanding this serious leisure activity
as a positive and beneficial human experience rather than an
unhealthy and deviant practice.
•Furthermore, the benefits of surfing identified in the study can be
utilized by surf destinations attempting to attract more surfers by
incorporating these benefits into their travel and tourism
promotional campaigns (Barbieri & Sotomayor, 2013). For instance,
a city such as Stavanger in Norway can include the findings of the
study to its marketing strategies to market the city as a new, exotic
‘cold water’ surf destination.
References
Barbieri, C., & Sotomayor, S. (2013). Surf travel behavior and destination preferences: An application of the
Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure. Tourism Management, 35, 111-121.
Booth, D. (2004). Surfing: From one (cultural) extreme to another. Understanding lifestyle sports:
Consumption, identity, and difference, 94-109.
Brymer, E. (2005). Extreme dude: A phenomenological exploration into the extreme sport
experience. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Wollongong, Wollongong..
Brymer, E. (2010). Risk taking in Extreme Sports: A phenomenological perspective. Annals of Leisure
Research, 13(1-2), 218-238.
Brymer, E., & Oades, L. G. (2008). Extreme sports: A positive transformation in courage and humility. Journal
of Humanistic Psychology.
Brymer, E., & Schweitzer, R. (2012). Extreme sports are good for your health: A phenomenological
understanding of fear and anxiety in extreme sport.Journal of health psychology, 1359105312446770.
Brymer, E., & Schweitzer, R. (2013). The search for freedom in extreme sports: A phenomenological
exploration. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14(6), 865-873.
Driver, B. L., Brown, P. J., & Peterson, G. L. (1991). Benefits of leisure. In Preliminary drafts of the chapters in
this volume were presented at a workshop of the authors in Snowbird, Utah, May 1989.. Venture Publishing.
Kavale, S. (1983). The qualitative research interview: a phenomenological and a hermeneutic model of
understanding. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 14(1983), 171-196.
Langseth, T. (2012). Liquid ice surfers—the construction of surfer identities in Norway. Journal of adventure
education & outdoor learning, 12(1), 3-23.
A case-study of the benefits acquired by
surfers in Jæren, Norway
Yasmine Mounir ElMahdy
Norwegian School of Hotel Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stavanger, Norway
Contact address: y.elmahdy@stud.uis.no
Results: Selected Quotations
Table 1. Types of benefits from sport
I
Personal
Enjoyment
II
Personal
Growth
III
Social
Harmony
IV
Social
Change
Enjoyment/Fun
Flow
Physical health
-cardio respiratory
-Muscular strength
-muscular endurance
-
flexibility
-
bone structure
-weight management
-Socialization
-Intergroup relations
-Community
Integration
-Educational
attainment
-
Social status
-Social mobility
Psychological well
-
being
-anxiety reduction
-depression reduction
Figure 2. A surfer in Jæren , Norway
Source: Driver et. al, 1991 P.123
Additional themes on benefits:
-The state of ‘Play’
- Environmental benefits
- Travel benefits
Figure 1. A model illustrating the connection between surfing and other fields
•The various benefits derived from participating in sport activities as
recreational leisure activities are extensively discussed in the study
as well. See Table 1.
Table 2. Benefits acquired by surfers in Norway
I
Personal
Enjoyment
II
Personal
Growth
III
Social
Harmony
IV
Social
Change
V
Environmental
Benefits
-Enjoyment/Fun
-The ‘Flow’ State
-The State
of
‘Play’
Physical health
-cardio respiratory
-Muscular strength
-muscular
endurance
-
flexibility
-
bone structure
-weight
management
-Intergroup
relations
-Social
bonding
-
Pride in
community
and nation
-Social
status
-Understanding
of
human
dependency on
the natural world
-Unity with nature
-Realization of
courage and
humility
Psychological
well
-being
-anxiety
reduction
-depression
reduction
-Self
-esteem and
self
-perception
-Environmental
awareness
-Environmental
protection via
ecological
sustainable
practices
Figure 3. Photo taken by Richard Gale
Results
Methods