Questionnaire Analysis

The research was conducted through questionnaires distributed to 76 surfers in Taiwan by an online questionnaire. This number (population) was generalized to be a reflection or the representation of the average number of surfers participating in surfing within Taiwan.

However, in order to check the correctness of these findings, a follow up research could still be held on a larger population than this. Taking a deeper scrutiny at the background of Surfers in Taiwan, the study reveals that there exists a wide variation and diversity in surfers’ nationalities, age, as well as surfing discipline and duration of experience. It is thereby a great belief that this is a significant and perfect reflection of surfers in Taiwan. However, from the response obtained from the distributed questionnaires, this study can establish that there is only a small number of surfers in Taiwan, who are professionally participating in the games/competitions to earn money. This is represented by just 15% (11 respondents) in our outcome; though, a percentage that is much higher when compared to other sports, such as in football.

4.1.1 Competitive Surfing

Regardless of the lower percentage of the total number of surfers participating in competitive surfing, which is 25%, when compared to other sports such as football, a good number of surfers (40%) still affirm that they would be much willing and able to participate in competitive surfing sports. Therefore, this proves that competitive surfing (competition) can still grow over years as surfers continue to gain skills, experience, and expertise in surfing.

Nevertheless, a significant percentage (50%) of surfers still confirm that they are merely participating in surfing for leisure or self-enjoyment; they do not see themselves participating as competitive surfers even in the near future. However, some of them still attend most of the surfing contests in Taiwan as spectators. To some extent, this spirit of spectatorship reveals their support for the contests, hence supportive of the competitive surfing.

Interestingly, one of the questions in the questionnaires, which was seeking to know the number of competitions that surfers are familiar with in Taiwan, revealed through responses that most surfers are aware of only one or two. This was a clear indication that they are not

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much aware of other surfing competitions. Consequently, there should be an improvement in publicizing or promoting the surfing contests so that they draw more competitors and a greater number of audience during competitions. In that context, this study reveals that there are three major contests in Taiwan, which include Taitung (QS), Ylan, and Kenting, alongside other smaller local contests that are hardly known to many surfers.

On the other hand, most of competitive surfers (70%) revealed that there are limited competitions in Taiwan, and 90% of competitive surfers suggested that it would be a good idea to organize national surfing tour, which would subsequently promote surfing talents and create public awareness for the competitions. From this study findings, only 25% of surfers acknowledge that there are organized training programs for the competitive surfing. This low percentage also reveals that a whole of 75% of surfers do not involve of participate in such training programs. However, further scrutiny elicits that there are many surfing programs and training arrangements, but many surfers are never aware of them since they never work together, hence posing greater challenges to the contest arrangements.

4.1.2 Surfing Facilities

This section scrutinizes not only the facilities around surf, but also analyses waves that supports surfing. Here, several respondents affirmed that they find their home spots as the averagely best locations for surfing, while some of them find it a bit challenging to tell according to our questionnaire. However, a good number of surfers also find no big difference in the surfing spots speaking about facilities.

Concerning the questions about facilities, there is no precise of major outcome that can be drown from. Nonetheless, a number of surfers reveal that the beaches and waters at some spots are not clean enough to support surfing in general. The study also reveals that there is always limited space for parking for those who attend the competitions in their cars. Moreover, there is a further need for public toilets and showers, which sometimes tend to be insufficient at certain locations especially to hold competitions. Furthermore, for the surfing competitors, there is a growing need for better equipped lifeguards during the whole season. All these facilities can be funded or constructed or maintained by the national government or by the local governments, making sure that they last for a longer periods to extensively serve people.

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Another issue surrounding the surfing facilities, as revealed by the respondent surfers, is that the coastal regions only support and protect constructions that are not beneficial to the surfing activities. Both the national and local governments can thereby intervene by protecting all the coastal surfing facilities, and the best way to do this is through the involvement of surfers who have a comprehensive understanding the sea and coastal protection concepts, hence improving the locations for surfing.

4.1.3 Surfing Culture

This study’s findings encouragingly reveal that many people perceive surfing as a real sport; even though, regarding the competitive surfing, some improvements are still necessitated since 30% of the surfers’ parents and 15% of their friends do not acknowledge surfing to be a competitive sport. Even for the competitive surfers, this often turns out to be the case. It is thereby in this study’s view that even if the surfers do not see themselves as competitive surfers, other people look at them in that position, hence the competitors deserve a recognition.

Regarding the question of whether the Taiwanese government supports surfing, the responses were quite diverse; as most respondents alleged that the Taiwanese government does not fully support surfing, hence discouraging the surfing activities and competitions. On the contrary, some respondents still support that the Taiwanese government is supportive of the surfing activities. From the analysis of the responses, this disparity can be tracked and tied to the open questions that look at different study aspects. For instance, the respondents who said that the government is not supportive of the surfing activities could have looked at the events such as the governmental bans of surfing during typhoons, or the construction of coastal structures that complicates the conditions for surfing, or generally the lower response by the government in promoting sports in general. On the other hand, the respondents who supported that the government is supportive of the surfing activities could have looked at the supports from local governments who encourage the contests and help in the construction of facilities at the beaches, such as showers and toilets.

In surfing culture, there is a seemingly emerging challenge on lack of knowledge about the ocean and its waters by the Taiwanese. These people that are not good swimmers tend to be scared of the sea and begin to perceive surfing as an extremely dangerous sport. Evidently, from our questionnaire responses, 8% of the surfers are not capable of swimming, and this number could even be much higher for the general population who are not surfers. The solution to this

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challenge is thereby teaching children both surfing and swimming at their younger ages, hence a guaranteeing both safety and health benefits, which will later encourage the beach culture on surfing. This research thereby finds that training of people (surfers) at their older ages is the major reason for the existing underdeveloped surfing culture.

4.1.4 Support for the Surfing Activities

This study found out that many people follow the surfing competitions, both nationally and internationally, hence there is almost no difference between the two. Therefore, this means that if an individual was a professional surfer, then surfing during a national tours would equally give much exposure as going for the international tours. This is thereby a very vital information for the surfing sponsors. As well, this study further reveals that 75% of the respondents support that there should be an exposure of the surfing culture through the social media. The media ought to offer more room for surfing reports, which would also create more opportunities for the media reporting.

Surprisingly, there still exists lack of agreements between professional surfers and their sponsors. The sponsorship and money prices still emerges to be an issue in surfing. Whereas a large number of non-competitors (surfers) reveal that prices of contests and money issues are not their priorities, the competitive surfers confirm that indeed contest prices and money issues are their core concerns, but they are confronted by lack of sponsorship in Taiwan.

According to some of the responders, it is possible to get special guidance in junior schools for top sports, but this does not exists in surfing sport, raising two possibilities that either the surfing activities are never looked into, or the sponsors are never interested in it.

37 4.1.4.1 Extra Question

The table 12 bellow shows the responses (answers) provided by three respondents on the question seeking information on the National support of surfing in Taiwan:

Table 12 Follow up Question and Responses from Three Professional Surfers

Question 90% of the surfers would like to see a National tour, but why do you think there is no National tours at the moment?

Respondent 1 There are no sufficient number of surfers who take surfing seriously as a professional and competitive sport.

Respondent 2

The surfing competitions and organizers only organize their own contest and do not work together and are hardly involve with other sporting sectors.

And above all, the Taiwanese government does not see surfing as a serious, professional, and competitive sporting activity.

Respondent 3 Just like any other sports, the Taiwanese people (citizens) do not take sports and sporting activities seriously, hence they neither compete nor follow the competition tours with seriousness.