In Senegal, Black surfers want to reclaim the waves despite lack of resources

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Ibra Samb first saw people carrying surfboards when he was a little boy, studying at a Quran school in a fishing village in Senegal . Together with friends, he hid from teachers and parents and followed the surfers — who were all white foreigners — to the beach.

“They were gliding over the waves,” said the 28-year-old professional surfer. “To us, it was incredible. Seeing them stand up on their boards, we just wanted to try it ourselves.”

Samb and his friends could not afford surfboards, so they used pieces of plywood they found on the beach, leftovers from colorful pirogue fishing boats. Little did he know that surfing would eventually bring him opportunities to compete around the world, access to international sponsorships and a sense of belonging and purpose.

As the world watches Senegal host the Youth Olympic Games this month — the first Olympic event ever held in Africa — Senegalese surfers hope they can get more resources and visibility on the global surf scene to be able to fulfill their potential.

The origins of surfing can be traced back to the native populations of Peru, Polynesia and Hawaii. But today's surfing, especially professional surfing, is predominantly white.

In West Africa, a fortunate few can afford expensive equipment and training. For professionals, visas are hard to obtain and traveling is costly. Despite Africa's extraordinary coastline, African surfers remain rare at the highest level of competitive surfing .

Samb wants to change that, he said, sitting at the doorstep of a small cabin that serves as the office of Anda surf school . He founded the school last year with Cherif Fall, a fellow professional surfer and a childhood friend. Alongside paid coaching sessions, they hold free weekly classes for kids from their native Ngor village.

“My dream today is that one day I’ll wake up and see that these kids, who have progressed alongside me, have qualified for the World Tour," he said.

The Ngor fishing village, where most of the Senegalese surfers hail from, was made famous by the cult 1966 surf documentary “The Endless Summer.”

Ngor’s residents, members of the Lebou ethnic group who traditionally make a living through fishing, for centuries have had a deep relationship with the ocean, which has shaped their identity, spirituality and economy. Because of that, many kids are naturals at surfing, Samb said.

On a recent Sunday morning, on the same beach where they taught themselves how to surf on plywood, Samb, Fall and some local volunteers coached around 20 local kids, aged from 7 to 14. Boys and girls twirled in the sand, practicing the pop-up, the explosive transition from lying flat on your stomach to standing up, on boards donated by Australian surfers.

Seeing the potential opportunities, parents are eager to see their children surf. That Sunday, a father stopped by, asking whether he could sign his 2-year-old daughter up for lessons.

“Now, the whole village wants to surf,” Samb said.

Unlike in the past when girls were expected to remain indoors doing chores, their families are now much more at ease letting their daughters go out for various activities including surfing, he said. One of his female students is Katy Samba, his 13-year-old niece, who dreams of becoming a professional surfer.

When she glides over the waves, just her and her board, nothing else matters. She forgets her fears, daily struggles and social expectations.

“I feel free,” she said. “I don’t need to shout or do anything; I’m simply confident.”

Over the past two decades, surfing in Senegal has evolved from a relatively obscure pastime into a thriving ecosystem. It now includes several surf schools, camps, board repair shops and beachside bars.

But for locals, resources are still missing. There are more interested kids than there are surfboards, Samb said, and they often have to share. Kids don't have adequate clothes or wetsuits. And all teachers are volunteers, so they are limited in how many kids they can coach.

Ocean pollution is also a growing problem for the expansion of surfing in Senegal, said Babacar Thiaw, founder of Surfrider Senegal, an environmental organization.

“Senegalese surfing cannot thrive in water that makes people sick. As long as sewage and plastics continue to pour into the ocean, we are putting the health of our youth, our tourism industry and the very future of our waves at risk.”

Surfing, which made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, is one of the so-called engagement sports during the Youth Olympic Games hosted by Senegal. Although there won’t be any medal competitions held in Dakar, it puts its year-round swells in the global spotlight. Awa Sika Seck, a 19-year-old Senegalese surfing champion, carried the Youth Olympic Flame through the Ngor village.

“In the beginning, it was a disappointment,” Oumar Sèye, the head of the Senegalese Surf Federation, said about the decision to not include surfing as a competition sport in the Dakar games. “But after two days of shows, where 25 African surfers demonstrated their skills, we are very happy with the result. Everyone, in the press and on the social media, is talking about African surfing.”

Around 75% of the Senegalese population is younger than 35, according to the country’s national statistics agency. Poverty is widespread and youth unemployment stands at about 23%, with a large majority who work in the informal sector. Senegal is struggling with a cost-of-living crisis and a massive debt which has limited the government's ability to help out its citizens. There is virtually no government investment in professional surfing.

“We have the waves, we have the talent, and we have the logistics,” Sèye said. “The only thing that is missing is financial means and support from the government.”

The Olympic Committee said it has tailored its sports program “to better align it with the local context.” The engagement sports, including surfing, “focus on participation, discovery, and youth engagement.” It did not reply to follow-up questions.

The Senegalese Sports Ministry said that surfing “remains the preserve of an economic elite and tourists” and “lags behind” other sports in terms of “promotion and the number of registered members, organizational structure and athletic performance.”

“As long as those involved in the discipline offer only sporadic initiatives — lacking a genuine strategy for local integration — surfing will struggle to secure public subsidies,” the ministry said.

Samb hopes that the new generation can have easier access to the opportunities from surf. But most of all, he hopes that they will find the same inner peace he feels when he is in the water.

“I feel very happy when I’m in the water,” he said. “It’s something I can’t quite explain — it has given me something truly special.”

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