How tiring is surfing in terms of muscular and neural cost? Would YOU be happy with your athlete surfing on a recovery/tempo day? What effect might it have on a following speed day?
Any experiences, anecdotes, or otherwise? Thank you. 
Not counting lost limbs from shark attacks, right?
Depends on the session length and surf conditions. Neurally ,it’s not very taxing on the system, however the paddling can beat you up. I would prefer that they do some pool work ,tai-chi,chi-gong on a recovery day.
I think it depends on what they define as surfing. If it is a laid back few hours of surfing, then it should be fine…If it is a 6-hour surf marathon, probably not. (The latter was an easy day for a surfer/sprinter that i know in Socal )
Coming from my coach who is from Long Beach California and was on the USA Track and Field team in 1997 for decath…
IT IS VERY TAXING! Not from a CNS standpoint but on the muscular system. It is tiring and will deplete muscle glycogen.
Yeah, I’m defintely sore when I come in from surfing, and I usually dont go more than 2 hours. Also, the waves and the ocean in general will take a lot out of you and leaves your muscles really fatigued. Probably not the best idea on a recovery day, but you can’t control everything your athletes do.
Well since we get killer waves here in montana (cough), I enjoy riding my longboard all the time…my longboard skateboard, that is 
Asking around, I have been told that massive amounts of calories are actually burned while surfing, supporting what Quick has stated above.
Thanks for all responses 