By Karin Sierralta

Many people are unaware of how big surfing is in Japan, a country with an ancient culture characterized by order, humility, honesty and respect. The values ​​of this society are impressive, not only maintaining an almost perfect harmony between its community and the environment, but also caring about good nutrition and coexistence based on respect.

Japan could be ranked as the fourth country with the largest number of surfers in the world. The ranking is led by Brazil, with a population of more than 200 million people and an estimated six million surfers, then the United States, with a population of over 300 million, has more than five million surfers and a billion-dollar surfing industry, then comes Australia, with a population of no more than 25 million inhabitants, has more than four million surfers, which in proportion to its population makes it the country with the most surfers in the world.

At least I had no idea that this Asian country could be in fourth place in the ranking with more than two million surfers.

In a conversation with my friend Kimifumi Imoto, vice president of the Japan Surfing Federation, he confirmed that Japan has more than 1.200 athletes registered in competitions and more than 1.000 shapers.

That when they hold the national games they need a week of competition, with four podiums at the same time and that include all the official divisions: Open, Junior, Longboard, Bodyboard, Masters and SUP.

It also has a national circuit of only four stages, due to the number of participants, a complete surfing festival with the aforementioned modalities.

The NSA has 72 affiliated clubs, which means more than 70 teams competing in the national games, something worth imitating in our region.

But it also has an eight-date professional tour that awards cash prizes of $10.000 for men and $5.000 for women at each stage, as well as eight stages of the WSL tour and, in addition, every weekend there are events organized by clubs affiliated with its federation.

The Nippon Surfing Association receives $600.000 in membership fees, meaning 12.000 members pay $50 each per year and receive basic insurance, a license and a rule book. It also receives $200.000 from private sponsors and $400.000 from the Japanese Olympic Committee.

With a budget of 1.2 million dollars  a year and an impeccable organization, how come they don't have any native surfers in the CT? Why do they have so few athletes in the QS and why did they only win their first team gold at the ISA World Championships?

It may be due to many factors, but I am sure that things will soon change, and they will become a world power, because they do things in an organized way with a clear growth plan, but above all, with enviable values.

When we talk about values, and going back to what was said at the beginning of this note, where we talked about respect, something that is less and less practiced in our Latin America, it is clear to emphasize that practicing it is essential in our countries to achieve our goals. Respect for others, respect for the rules, respect for yourself. Respect is one of the values ​​of Olympism that we must practice more vigorously.

If we all respected and promoted the values ​​of Olympism, which are respect, friendship and excellence, in our environment, the world would be different.

But Japan continues to teach us another of its great characteristics, which is humility. From World Cup volunteers, permanent staff and even the highest dignitaries, everyone bowed to everyone around them. Mayors, ministers, businessmen, shake your hand and look you in the eyes as a sign of respect and sincerity, they shake your hand and take you with both hands as a sign of affection. There may be hypocrites, but the message always comes across as positive.

Surfing was born in the same way, cultivating the Aloha spirit that we so need in recent times, leaving aside ego and personal interests to enjoy in harmony with the environment and our society.

Japan leaves us a message of respect and humility to the entire surfing family to remember that somewhat lost aloha. Let's hope that this Japanese jolt of respect and humility not only stays with us forever but also spreads to everyone.

Domo Arigato Japan!