Cape Town – A variety of pups returned to Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, California, for the annual World Dog Surfing Championships to hit the waves and claim the prize of Top Dog surfer on the block.
Dogs pitch up in beach-appropriate outfits which include sunglasses and are judged similarly to human surfing competitions in terms of length of the ride, technique and tricks.
According to the BBC, the event was inspired by a scene from the 2002 surfing movie ‘Blue Crush’, with categories for the championship ranging from small to XL Dog categories as well as a Dog Tandem and Human/Dog Tandem categories.
“We judge them according to the fact that they caught the wave and that they stayed on the board for as long as they can,” said event organiser Andre Crump.
“But there’s also style, there’s confidence and the size of the wave. A lot of dogs, their position on the board is completely different, it’s really interesting,” he said.
Meanwhile, an Australian kelpie known as Abbie Girl set a mark in October 2011 and was recognised by the Guinness World Records for the longest wave surfed by a dog in open water.
Abbie caught a 107.2-m-long (351-ft 8-in) wave at Ocean Beach in San Diego, California and has since gone skydiving with her owner, Michael Uy, who adopted Abbie as a rescue in 2007.
IOL
