An Interview with Eduardo Arena – Founder of the ISF
(Arena) – “Thank you so much for your letter* and especially for your interest in the surf museum project, which I think is a great idea. Here are my answers to your questions:”
1) There is some controversy regarding which contest was considered to be the first true World Championships of Surfing. What is your opinion on that and how does it relate to the formation of the ISF?
(Arena) – “Definitely the first world surfing championship was the one in 1965. The main reason to establish the International Surfing Federation was that before the 1964 contest in Australia (and including Australia 1964), different countries organized surfing tournaments but with open invitations to participate.
As a result, the surfers attending were the locals and others who could personally afford to go. In Australia a first step was taken by paying for local expenses, but that did not include airfares. Hence, the surfers who participated were not necessarily the best surfers from each country, and therefore the winner could not be considered a world champion.
At that time, most surfing countries were present and represented, so it occurred to methat we should have a world institution regulating world surfing championships. That is how the ISF came to be and with no opposition, I was named president.
The main agreements were:
- The ISF would name the host country of the world championships (after) considering proposals.
- Most importantly – we wanted to have the champions and judges of each country present from then on, since in previous tournaments all the judges used to be locals.
- The ISF would assure and pay for the transportation of the two best surfers of each country and a judge. The host country would be responsible for all local expenses such as hotel accommodations, food and local transportation. Each country would pay for the expenses of the other members of its team.
Then I proposed Peru as the country to organize the first world surfing tournament under the above conditions and it was unanimously accepted.
In order for the ISF to pay for the transportation of so many people from many distant countries, I contacted NBC New York and reached an agreement which allowed us to pay for the airfares while local sponsors in Peru covered all other expenses.
There is no doubt that 1965 Peru was the first Surfing World Championship. The other world tournaments in California in 1966, Puerto Rico 1968, Australia 1970 and California 1972 were done under the same regulations, but with the sponsorship of ABC Network since they gave us a better deal.”
2) How were the members of the ISF committee chosen?
(Arena) – “The members of the ISF committee were chosen by vote.”
3) What happened to the original World Championship trophy?
(Arena) – “The original “World Championship Trophy” was a beautiful trophy donated by myself and it was – simply put – stolen, with no reasonable explanation by Mr. George Downing. The idea was that the tournament winner would inscribe his name and take the trophy home, and then return it by the next tournament. This worked quite well until California, 1972.”
Jimmy Blears took it home to Hawaii and in 1974, when it was to be returned, he gave it to Mr. George Downing, the Hawaiian team manager, who refused to give it back, stating that the trophy would remain at his house with no authorization of the ISF whatsoever. Many efforts were made in this respect, to no avail.
4) A few participants in the 1965 World Championships have said that Felipe Pomar’s victory was influenced by the local judges while most others have said that he won the contest fairly based on his surfing skill. Do you have any comments on that?
(Arena) – “Following the new regulations of the ISF, there were five judges from different countries in 1965. Only one of them was Peruvian…that answers your question. It was impossible that one Peruvian judge would influence four others from other countries.”
5) A lot has been written about the argument that took place between the Peruvians and the Hawaiians following the 1965 World Championships. What was that argument about?
(Arena) – “The argument with Hawaiians in the Peru tournament was not important.”
6) What caused the ISF to dissolve after the 1972 tournament?
(Arena) – “The 1974 tournament was supposed to be held in South Africa. The ISF was unable to finance the tournament basically because the TV network refused to go there. So, after many years of service to surfing I felt it was time for me to step down and I consequently resigned.”
7) Some people have tried to call the Makaha International the first world championships. What is your opinion?
(Arena) – “I don’t think that the annual Makaha Contest could be called a world championship. This is fully explained in my answer to question number 1.”
8 ) Who was the best surfer never to win a world championship in your time?
(Arena) – “I really can not answer that question”
9) What do you think about the current ASP World Championship format?
(Arena) – “Waves are unique and different in each surfing spot so judging tournaments all over the world through point scoring is a good idea. When we started, we tried to institute a set of rules that could be applied anywhere in the world. The ASP has built on what we started and improved it.”
Personal Questions:
1) Tell me a little bit about your upbringing?
(Arena) – “I was born in Lima, Peru, March 20th, 1928. I am now 81 years old. I have a degree in Industrial engineering and worked in the family business, which was an important winery on the country.”
1) When did you start surfing?
(Arena) – “I started surfing in 1948 at Club Waikiki, Lima. Boards at the time were hollow and weighed about 80 pounds. I stopped surfing about 20 years ago.”
2) When did surfing contests start in Peru and what was your involvement?
(Arena) – “In Peru we started organizing surfing contests in the very early ‘50’s and I was always present. I became Peruvian champion in one of them.” (the author notes that this was 1956)
3) Do you remember the boards that the Peruvians brought to Manly in 1964?
(Arena) – “By then we were using the normal boards of the time, that were about 13 feet.” (the author notes that the Peruvians were using shorter boards than 13 feet at Manly)
4) Did you ever try your hand at shaping a surfboard?
(Arena) – “No, I never did.”
5) Who is/was your favorite surfer?
(Arena) – “Nat Young”
6) Final thoughts?
(Arena) – “If you need more information or want to clarify anything, please don’t hesitate to contact me. It’s been a pleasure going back into my surfing memories.”
*This interview was conducted by phone and by a personal letter from Mr. Arena in October/November of 2009.
Comments on this entry are closed.