All Covid, all the time, or at least that’s what it feels like to me as an emergency physician on the East Coast of the US. But of course, whatever you do and wherever you surf, the global pandemic has affected you. And, unfortunately, it seems far from over. Way back in May, I asked my wizened uncle, 92-year-old professor emeritus of microbiology at University of Pennsylvania and author of the textbook Viral Pathogenesis (Elsevier) what he thought about Covid-19. He paraphrased Winston Churchill and told me “this isn’t the beginning of the end, it’s just the end of the beginning”.
Covid-19 has certainly stuck its ugly spike protein into the heart of competitive surfing. The Tokyo Olympics – the first to have included surfing: postponed. WSL Championship tour 2020: cancelled. Global surf travel: severely restricted. But how the pandemic has affected your surfing life, at your local breaks is probably quite variable and dependent on a number of factors. What is your personal risk tolerance? What is your concern for spreading the virus to others? How prevalent is Covid-19 in your community? What are the local laws? Where can you park? etc. Indeed, there has been considerable controversy in the surfing community about the ethics of surfing during a pandemic. It boils down to personal freedom vs. responsible citizenship. The photo above is a case in point. This surfer, known to have Covid, narced on by fellow lifeguards for surfing when she should have been in quarantine.
In this issue of Surfing Medicine, we address the question of surfing during the pandemic in an article by Mary Showstark MPAS, PA-C, et al “Covid-19: Should Surfers Surf?”. PA Showstark (SMA’s executive director) and her co-authors paint a compelling argument against surfing during the height of the pandemic. Interestingly, around the time that article was accepted for publication, the New York Times published an opinion piece “Should Surfing Be Allowed During the Pandemic?” (May 1) by Zoltan Istvan, a lay author, who comes to the opposite conclusion.
Other highlights of this issue include case reports on a strange rash paradoxically found only under a “rash guard” and a report of a severe fin-cut. From BC, Canada, a study of surf rescue training, and from SM staff, a current concepts article discussing indications for tourniquets and how they can be improvised.
As editor-in-chief, I apologize that this 33rd issue is a bit late, and a bit thin. However, with fewer people surfing, surf contests cancelled, and universities shuttered, we’ve had fewer submissions than usual – our “supply chain is broken” as they say. Like everything else, I’m blaming it on Covid.
With much Aloha.
Andrew Nathanson, MD