Turn-Taking in the Surfing Lineup

Abstract

This article addresses the specific issue of rules and turn-taking in surfing from an ethnomethodological approach. The naturally occurring coordination of turn-taking of surfers riding ocean waves permits us to examine the nature of organizing local orderlinesses. Operating without officials or external supervision, surfers find ways to enhance safety and keep conflict to a minimum, while avoiding a burdensome structure of rule governance. The microsocial structures that envelop them expose unexpected properties of rules, including a fundamental “occasioned” character that is respectful of the complexity of their affairs. Further, moralities are dependent upon local contingencies that are less than stable and too numerous and shifting to be accounted for by a comprehensive and invariant rule set.