Swimming And Surfing In Pre-20th Century
Image show Africans swimming freestyle across rapids during the 1884 Nile Expedition. Courtesy of Illustrated London News, 4 October 1884.In his essay about African swimmers in ‘Enslaved Swimmers and Divers in the Atlantic World’ included in the March 2006 issue of The Journal of American History, Professor Kevin Dawson wrote, “…Having learned to swim early, many coastal and interior West African men and women incorporated swimming into their recreational and work activities.
The swimming abilities of several disparate ethnic groups were so strong that, independent of Polynesian influence, they invented surfing…Africans in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Gabon, and possibly the Congo-Angola region surfed…several hundred of boys and girls sporting together before the beach, and in many places among the rolling and breaking waves, learning to swim…”
He noted the observations of James Edward Alexander in 1834 at Accra, Ghana that “from the beach, meanwhile, might be seen boys swimming into the sea, with light boards under their stomachs. They waited for a surf; and came rolling like a cloud on top of it.”
In the chapter entitled “Swimming, Surfing and Underwater Diving in Early Modern Atlantic Africa and the African Diaspora”,
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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