“If I can still move, I can still surf!”: Exploring surfers’ understandings of concussion in Canadian surf culture

Over the last decade a plethora of research has emerged that has explored the relationship between sport and the traumatic brain injury, concussion. This previous research has primarily focused on the participants of more ‘traditional,’ ‘contact,’ ‘team’ sports such as rugby, hockey, and football, all the while ignoring the participants of more ‘non-traditional,’ ‘non-contact,’ ‘individualized’ sports such as surfing. The distinction between these two types of sports is significant, as over the last decade, surfing has seen a massive surge in participation rates worldwide—especially in Canada (Gilchrist & Wheaton, 2017). And while the proliferation of the sport, for the most part, has shown many benefits, studies have also shown that concussion rates in the sport continue to rise (Nathanson et al., 2002; Taylor et al., 2004; Swinney, 2015). Noting both the increase in participation rates, and the rising rates of concussion within surfing, this interview-driven study (n=12) attempted to unpack and situate surf-related concussion within a socio-cultural context by exploring how experienced, male and female surfers from Canada’s West Coast, came to understand and conceptualize ideas of risk, gender, and concussion within the ethos of Canadian surf culture. This paper outlines the findings from this study and further places the findings into conversations with the growing body of sociological literature that has explored sport-related concussion within a socio-cultural context (see Anderson & Kian, 2011; McGannon et al., 2013; Liston et al., 2016; Ventresca, 2018; Malcolm, 2018).