photo : Bengt E Nyman
In case anyone’s not too sure, Austria is a landlocked country with mountains, meadows and lakes – but no tidal waters.
So how have the Austrians achieved another accolade as superb sea surfers?
Surfing
Generally speaking, we tend to think of surfing as a recently founded summer sport in the western world or the prerogative of the young, wealthy, beach-bronzed beauties of places like Malibu and Santa Cruz in California. But it’s actually an ancient sport founded in Polynesia around 1777. For centuries it’s been a central part of Hawaiian rites and sacrificial ceremonies.
Surfing is a sport that transcends age, gender and social class. It’s a world-wide phenomenon as evidenced in media coverage; film; and the development of surfing schools – not to mention the increasing number of surfers across the globe. Even in land-locked countries like Austria.
And although surfing in any form (e.g. paddle surfing, wake boards and board surfing) has yet to become an accepted Olympic sport, the Olympic committee accepts the importance of the International Surfing Association. This is the governing body of the sport and prime pusher for the development of competitive surfing, surfing as an Olympic sport and the industry in general.
Surfing in Austria
As a land-locked country with mainly mountains, meadows and lakes, you might not associate Austria with surfing in the way you do with skiing. But Austrian athletes are among the best at this largely beach-based boarding behaviour.
According to the Austrian Surfing Association, riding the rivers is the best way to shape up your surfing style – and nowhere better than super Styria. The river Mur at Graz – the capital city of the province – has stand-up waves for superb surfing.
Other suitable riverine water-ways are the river Salzach (Salzburg) in the Federal state of Salzburg and the Inns (Innsbrück) in the Tirol.
Since 2011, Austria has also been classified as a World Surfing Reserve, putting it on a par with Malibu, Santa Cruz and Manly Beach in Australia. But you may be forgiven for having some doubts about the surfability of Austrian rivers. As anyone who has been will know, it’s likely to be hard to surf on ice in winter!
Eiriceira, Portugal
The pretty sea-side resort and fishing village of Ericeira in Portugal – on the western coast of the country – is an ideal location for surfing on the sea waves. It has some 40 beautifully clean beaches, naturally occurring as though built for superb surfing.
Coxos Break point is particularly good, being the best professional surfing area in Europe – definitely not a place for beginners. But it was the scene for the Austrian Surf Championships in September. This must give you some idea of the ability and agility of the Austrian surfers, all gained on their rivers – perhaps they’re places you might like to try too.
The Austrian Accolade
The surfing championships achieved high accolade from those in the know. For more information, simply click here.
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