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Surfing etiquette

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The surfer closest to the peak, where the wave is breaking, has the wave. Don't drop in on them, don't paddle around anyone to steal the inside, join the back where the lineup takes turns, and if you drop in by mistake, get off the wave and say sorry.

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Top view of a lineup: two surfers waiting, one riding along the breaking wave, and the peak marked, with the title Surfing etiquette

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Surfing etiquette is the lineup's code. Several sources call these rules unwritten. But councils, lifeguards, surf magazines and surf schools around the world write down the same core, and almost all of it comes back to one question: who has the wave?

Below are five common lineup situations, and what to do in each. They come from our surfing etiquette reel, and every rule is backed by at least two independent sources, led by local councils' surf codes and surf media, with surf schools as extra support.

1. Someone closer to the peak?

A surfer already riding from the peak along the breaking wave, while a waiting surfer looks toward the peak before paddling

Do this: it's their wave. Don't drop in.

The basic rule of surf etiquette: the surfer closest to the peak, where the wave is breaking, has the wave. Everyone else gives way. Councils in Australia, lifeguards in California, a city tourism office in Spain and Brazilian surf media all write it the same way.

Taking off in front of that surfer is a drop-in. Sources call it the cardinal sin of surfing, and surf codes call it disrespectful and dangerous.

Two things people get wrong:

  • Already up and riding? Still theirs. If someone is on their feet and riding, stop paddling. It's still their wave.
  • Look before you go. Check towards the peak every time you paddle for a wave. If someone closer is paddling for it and committed, pull back.

2. Dropped in by mistake?

You, the surfer who dropped in, kicking out of the wave and saying sorry while the rider carries on along the wave

Do this: kick out. Say sorry.

It happens to everyone sooner or later. What matters is what you do next:

  1. Get off the wave straight away. Kick out over the back of the wave if you can, so you're out of the rider's line.
  2. Then say sorry. A quick sorry fixes most of it.

The point of kicking out is to get out of their way fast. Over the back is the goal when you can manage it; what matters is that you leave their line.

3. Paddling around someone to get inside?

A surfer waiting near the peak with a tick, and a second surfer who paddled around them to sit closer to the peak, labelled snake, with a cross

Do this: that's snaking. Don't.

Snaking is paddling around someone who's waiting, so you end up closer to the peak and steal their priority.

Surf codes and surf media call snaking greedy and disrespectful, and one council puts it plainly: it's surfing's equivalent of jumping the queue. They were there first. Let them have it.

4. Everyone taking turns?

Four surfers sitting in a row near the peak, one highlighted near the back of the line, with labels closest goes and watch first

Do this: join the back. Wait your turn.

At some breaks, mostly points and reefs, the lineup takes turns. Surfers rotate: you catch a wave, then you go to the back of the queue. It's not an official rule, and how strict it is depends on the spot.

If there is a rotation:

  • Caught a wave? Go to the back. Paddle back out wide, not through the peak, and slot in at the back of the line. (For the stroke itself, see how to paddle a surfboard.)
  • Don't take every wave. Share them around.
  • No clear line? Then closest to the peak goes. A queue never beats rule 1. Waiting longer doesn't give you a wave someone closer to the peak is already riding.

Watch first. Sit and look at how the lineup works before you join it.

5. She's closer to the peak?

A woman surfer riding from the peak, while a waiting surfer holds back, labelled same rule

Do this: it's her wave. Same rule.

The rules don't change for who's on the board. Surf codes say they apply to everyone in the surf, young or old, beginner or pro, at every level.

It's worth saying because the rule gets broken. In two separate studies, one by University of Technology Sydney researchers in Australia (Kaya and colleagues) and one by a researcher from Ibn Zohr University in Morocco (Nacer Idrissi), women surfers say men drop in on them and take their waves. The Moroccan report itself notes this isn't the same everywhere, and neither study puts a number on it. The answer is the same rule as situation 1.

Closest to the peak. That's it.

One rule runs the lineup

The lineup again: two surfers waiting, one riding from the peak, under the line one rule runs the lineup, closest to the peak goes

If you remember one thing from this post: closest to the peak goes. Save this for your next session.

Quick checklist

  • Closest to the peak has the wave. Everyone else pulls back.
  • Someone already up and riding? Still their wave.
  • Look towards the peak before you paddle.
  • Dropped in? Get off the wave, out of their line, and say sorry.
  • Never paddle around someone to get inside.
  • Where there's a rotation, go to the back after your wave, paddling back wide.
  • Same rules for everyone.

This is the lineup's code. Some details, like whether there's a rotation, change from break to break, so watch the lineup before you paddle into it.

Keep reading

  1. How to paddle a surfboardShort strokes going nowhere, slapping hands, gassed before the lineup, waves rolling under you? Five common paddling problems and the fix for each.
  2. How to spot and escape a rip currentCalm dark gap, being pulled out, someone else caught? Six rip current situations and what lifeguards say to do in each, from spotting one to getting out.
  3. Where to lie on a surfboardNose up and tail sinking, water over the nose, board leaning, feet dragging? Four paddling position problems and the fix for each one.