Surfing is a popular sport. Even when it comes to professional surfers, many of them flock to the sea together to catch the waves. If on any given day the tides are perfect for surfing, then one can only imagine the sheer amount of surfers that will be looking to get their hands dirty (or wet?). In such a scenario, how would it be decided who goes first? This is an extremely valid question, that was answered by World Champion Kelly Slater during an interview.

Seniority is apparently the secret tonic that makes the cogs of the surfing world run smoothly. The experience that you have underneath your wing, is what will determine how fast you get a chance to ride a good wave. But Slater explains it better than anyone.

Kelly Slater reveals the unspoken rules of surfing

During an interview with WIRED, Slater answered some questions that were gathered from Twitter users. Someone asked Slater, “Actually an absurd amount of surfers in the water… I don’t get how they know who’s turn it is to get the wave…unspoken rules of surf?” Slater revealed that the answer was not a straightforward one. “This is a complex equation.”

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But how is it decided who gets to go first? According to Slater, “We have like, a hierarchy at each break. If you’ve lived there for a long time, if you put your timing in the water, it’s like your neighborhood, knowledge of the wave, aggression, skill, all of those things kind of thrown in the mix.” But even though there are some particular factors involved, sometimes even these unspoken rules are not enough to keep people in line.

Kelly Slater revealed, “Occasionally, that pecking order gets kind of thrown off and somebody’s super aggressive and they’ll just take a wave. We call that snaking someone. Or they’ll drop it in front of someone. We call that dropping in.” While these are the unspoken rules governing experienced surfers, what is the status quo for the newbies?

Experience trumps everything

Apparently, the lesser experience one has surfing, the farther down one will be placed when it comes to getting the perfect wave. If you’re a rookie, forget about being anywhere near where the best waves are. Slater described the situation saying, “If you’re a grommet, a little kid, you basically gotta sit at the back of the line. You don’t get much of anything. You sit inside and get the small waves.”

While that might seem like a missed opportunity, maybe it’s the exact opposite. Maybe it’s a way of teaching the youngins. The more experience you get on the smaller not-so-good waves, the higher the chances are that you will be able to ride the bigger and better ones. While the fairness of the situation might be put into question, the effectiveness cannot be argued.

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Should amateur surfers be made to put in their dues, before they can surf on the big waves? Tell us what you think.