ABSTRACT
As indicated in previous chapters, there has been a dialectical conflict within the surfboard riding subculture between the imperative to play and the imperative to order that play since its early beginnings. In Australia this conflict was first manifest between those who wished to bathe at will in the sea and the local council authorities which regulated the activity, and later within the surf lifesaving subculture which resulted in surfboard riders breaking away from the SLSA. This chapter examines the bureaucratization, juridification and commodification of surfing culture involved in the dialectical process.
