B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 go surfing now, everybodyB次元官网网址檚 learning how,B次元官网网址� the Beach Boys have been telling us in song since 1962.

And if you havenB次元官网网址檛 started listening by now B次元官网网址� and you live in California B次元官网网址� perhaps itB次元官网网址檚 time you did.

On Monday surfing became the official sport of California.

So grab a board, catch a wave and again as the Beach Boys like to say, find yourself, B次元官网网址渟ittinB次元官网网址� on top of the world.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 am stoked that surfing is now CaliforniaB次元官网网址檚 official sport,B次元官网网址� declared Al Muratsuchi, state assemblyman and a dedicated surfer dude himself, after Gov. Jerry Brown put his signature to the new law Muratsuchi wrote and shepherded through the Legislature.

B次元官网网址淣o other sport represents the California Dream better than surfing B次元官网网址� riding the waves of opportunity and living in harmony with nature,B次元官网网址� added Muratsuchi, a surfer since high school who represents the city of Torrance, a place not far from the heralded California surf break called HaggertyB次元官网网址檚. (Yes, the one mentioned in the Beach BoysB次元官网网址� song B次元官网网址淪urfinB次元官网网址� USA.B次元官网网址�)

While the law acknowledges that surfing, like so much other California stuff, actually came from somewhere else B次元官网网址� in this case Hawaii B次元官网网址� it also makes the case that California revolutionized the art of shooting the curl and hanging 10.

The Golden State is the heart of the surfboard building industry and the place where the wetsuit was invented, state officials say, and with 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometres) of coastline, it provides a surferB次元官网网址檚 paradise that Muratsuchi estimates generates more than $6 billion in annual retail sales.

Michael Scott Moore, author of the acclaimed 2010 surfing history B次元官网网址淪weetness and Blood,B次元官网网址� agrees that although Hawaii is the cradle of surfing, California did play a key role in revolutionizing the sport.

B次元官网网址淢odern surfing was born in Huntington Beach, Malibu, the South Bay, Manhattan, Redondo,B次元官网网址� Moore said, referencing many of the beachfront cities the Beach Boys call out in B次元官网网址淪urfin USA.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 where new technologies in surf design got developed,B次元官网网址� continued Moore, an avid surfer himself. B次元官网网址淲e had a lot of aerospace technicians who were into surfing, and they developed new shapes for surfboards that turned the sport into something of a pop cultural phenomenon.B次元官网网址�

Basically, California builders began making boards safer, lighter, easier to stand on and easier to manoeuvr through the water than the ones the Hawaiians had used for centuries, Moore said. They also added a key feature, the skeg or bottom-of-the-board rudder and, yes, they invented the wetsuit.

Meanwhile, popular B次元官网网址淏each PartyB次元官网网址� movies of the 1960s that starred teen heartthrobs Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon made it look to the rest of the country like one big surf party was going on nonstop in California. The Beach Boys, Dick Dale, Jan and Dean and other popular musicians of the time provided the soundtrack.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 part of the California mythology,B次元官网网址� University of Southern California pop culture historian Leo Braudy said. B次元官网网址淭he idea of someone becoming Californianized, and if you become Californianized then surfing is part of the deal.B次元官网网址�

Indeed, Huntington Beach now calls itself Surf City and is home to the SurfersB次元官网网址� Hall of Fame and the International Surfing Museum. Oceanside has the California Surf Museum. In Redondo Beach, there is a bust of George Freeth, hailed as CaliforniaB次元官网网址檚 first surfer after he began dazzling local crowds with his wave-riding skills in 1907.

(Freeth actually learned to surf in his native Hawaii, where itB次元官网网址檚 been the official sport since 1998.)

But no matter. Which state lays claims to surfing as its sport doesnB次元官网网址檛 bother surfers all that much, said Moore, who has surfed all over the world.

B次元官网网址淎s long as the waves are good, we donB次元官网网址檛 care,B次元官网网址� he said laughing.

He may be right.

A woman who answered the phone Monday at legendary big-wave rider Titus KinimakaB次元官网网址檚 surf school in Hanalei, Hawaii, said sheB次元官网网址檇 be happy to put a surfer on the phone to discuss the issue.

B次元官网网址淏ut theyB次元官网网址檙e all in the water,B次元官网网址� she added.

John Rogers, The Associated Press

Like us on and follow us on .