In 1982, a local newspaper article referred to 35-year-old Bruce Clelland as an "elder statesman surfer." Not only was Bruce the oldest surfer in town, but 35 was considered retirement age and time to put out to pasture.
Also in 1982, 10-year-old Kelly Slater made his debut at the East Coast Championships in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, putting the world on notice that there was a new sheriff in town. Every top competitor from the entire East Coast was there, and no one was performing on Kelly's level. In fact, when Kelly paddled out in a heat, the beach was lined with competitors and spectators of all ages.
Fast forward 40 years, and my, how things have changed. A few years ago, at 50 years old, Kelly Slater was the No. 1 ranked surfer in the world ratings for a brief period. And in 2026, 35 is considered young. There are 12-year-old kids who surf the Jax Beach Pier daily who would win a pro contest in the early 1980s, a time when the surfing world was dominated by 20-somethings. At the other end of the spectrum, 72-year-old Terry Deloach still surfs on a level with the kids on any given day at the Pier.
When surf contests started in the 1960s, there were only four divisions: boys, juniors, men and women. Today there are more than 20 divisions to accommodate all the different age groups, ranging from 9 and under to over 70, with multiple divisions of women and longboard.
What started as a tradition hundreds of years ago, limited to Hawaiian royalty, has become woven into the fabric of global youth culture, as well as marketing strategies for a multitude of products. It has evolved from a bohemian counterculture to a billion-dollar market and respected sport.
But parents, don't let your kids start surfing. It will ruin their lives, because that's all they will ever want to do.
See you next week!
