 Previously there had been innumerable amateur competitions, from the ancient Hawaiians themselves who were known to wager on the outcomes, to multiple iterations of surf competition as some form of race (commonly starting from shore, paddling to a buoy, then catching a wave back to shore).In 1961 the United States Surfing Association (USSA) was founded, arguably the first proto-professional surfing contest organization.This was also about the time when surfing switched from core action