Hundreds of dog lovers and dozens of canines have converged in California for the World Dog Surfing Championships.
Key points:
- Dogs compete in several size divisions to be crowned surf champions.
- They are evaluated based on their riding skill, confidence, and duration of ride.
- The San Francisco event began in 2006.
- Wave-riding canines were graded on everything from technique to confidence and the size of their wave at Pacifica State Beach near San Francisco.
The hounds are divided into categories based on their size, which ranges from little to medium and large to extremely huge.
There were also tandem dog and tandem human-dog classes, with owners joining their canines on the board.
Saturday’s event, touted as the “world’s finest dog surfing contest,” has taken place in the San Francisco region since 2006.
Charlie, Jeffrey Niebor’s seven-year-old labrador who began surfing at the age of two, finished second in the big-very large division.
“I can’t really describe his enthusiasm and how much he likes it,” Mr Niebor added.
“He’s having a great time. Even if we’re not surfing competitively, if we’re just hanging out at the beach and he takes his surfboard to the sea and barks on the waves, people enjoy it, and we just try to keep things positive.”
James Wall won first prize in the same category with his dog Faith, a 10-year-old rescue dog.
“As a puppy, she was terrified of a lot of things.” And we’ve only recently begun going to the beach. She hopped on one of the surfboards, and he responded, “Yeah, let’s give it a try… and she hasn’t looked back since.”
Prerana Rani, a dog owner and observer from Santa Clara, wondered if her dog would enjoy the waves as much as the competitors.
“It was incredible to watch so many dogs gather and just surf.” “This is the first time I’ve seen dogs surf, so it was pretty cool, and I hope it inspires my dog,” she added.