Australia's first surfing photograph was taken in 1912 and shows Tommy Walker performing a headstand on his heavy wooden surfboard while riding a wave at Main Beach, Yamba. The historic surf photo was taken by Osric Burston Notley, a former Yamba Surf Club member.

The man accredited with introducing surfing to Australia, back in 1909, will be remembered with inaugural Tommy Walker Surf Classic, a surf contest set down for Main Beach on January 2n, 2012.

Walker spent his childhood on Sydney's northern beaches and had the opportunity to visit Hawaii, as a seaman in 1908. In the Pacific islands, he bought his first surfboard for $US2 and travelled with it to Australia.

Historical reports of the Manly Surf Club tell that Tommy Walker and friends tested surfboards around Manly in 1911. The "Yamba 1911-12" inscription on the back of the photos proves the age of the surf photo legacy and the photo was kept by several generations of surfers.

The Californian skateboarding fever is back. With the colors of the 60's and 80's, the streets are being invaded by the new trend of the flat surfing days.

Meet Globe's Bantam Cruiser, a skateboard with a lifetime guarantee on the trucks that is surely not a toy. The innovative cruiser is quite simple and is made of a durable plastic component.

The Bantam Cruiser is already being tested in the hardest skate parks, on the streets and backyard pools and promises to transform all the grey cities of the world with its classic colors. Retro is the new chic.

The Bantam skateboard is strong and trucks are wider. The high grade 62mm/83a urethane wheels also promise stability and reaction to tricks and airs on vertical ramps.

Big wave surfer Axier Muniain has an incredible surf session in the Basque Country, Spain. Muniain and other experienced European chargers took the correct alignment of swell and winds to surf eight-meter waves in Igueldo, in the North of Spain.

The Spanish pro surfer was towed-in by a couple of jet skis and the wave rides were quite long. Watch the Spanish big wave surfing, here.

The storm that has been hitting Europe allowed for great big wave surfing sessions in the Old Continent, particularly in Ireland, Portugal, France, Wales and Spain. There solid XXL waves hitting the Iberian Peninsula and local rider scored incredible walls of water.

The year 2011 had great surf stories. SurferToday readers from more than 220 countries of the world were breathless with the incredible surf stunt performed by the Hawaiian waterman, Garrett McNamara surfing the biggest wave of all time, in Nazaré, Portugal.

The 90-100ft wave was the biggest hit of the 2011, but McNamara's story was closely followed by our list of the best surf movies of all time. Twenty five surf movies that you must own and watch on your free time.

Keala Kennelly got severely injured in Teahupoo, after a terrible wipeout. Her face was in a mess, but she recovered and will be ready for future big wave challenges. It was the third most popular surf article. The Kelly Slater surf park has always been an interesting feature. SurferToday readers are delighted with the fact they will have the opportunity to surf waves everywhere, even in desert areas.

Sandra Alionço is the 2011 Miss Reef International. The Brazilian model has been crowned amongst the most beautiful women in South America and everyone agrees. In sixth place, there's a question mark. Has Garrett McNamara broken the record for the world's biggest wave ever surfed?

Kelly Slater was the best paid pro surfer of 2011. The 11-time world surfing champion from Cocoa Beach, Florida, cashed in $556,250 in the 2011 surf contest season.

Interestingly, Slater is the only US surfer in Top 10 ranking. Damien Hobgood is the second North American surfer to earn the most out of the 2011 ASP World Tour. Hobgood grabbed $181,650.

The Australians and Brazilians dominate the cash machine of pro surfing. Owen Wright was the second best paid surfer of 2011 with a total of $445,750. Gabriel Medina, the new wonder kid from Brazil, has earned enough money to buy his first car. He cashed $307,100.

Adriano de Souza, winner of the 2011 Billabong Rio Pro, has also interesting pocket money to enjoy in the sunny Brazilian sand beaches. de Souza worked and deserved the $297,500 in prize money.

The 120-foot wave will be surfed in Ireland. Alastair Mennie, a renowned Irish big wave surfer believes that there are two surf spots off Ireland capable of delivering record high surfable waves.

Al Mennie wants to surf the biggest waves seen on Planet Earth, if the wind and swell conditions meet in perfect harmony. The Irishman is only waiting for the right moment.

"This is my mission. The good days are few and far between – 90% of the swells are unrideable and we’d reckon that only two days each year are rideable," Al Mennie told the Irish Examiner.

"We’ve been out and ridden them. They weren’t enormous but we are waiting for the right conditions". Although he will not reveal the exact location of the golden surf spot, the big wave surfer says the two peaks are off the west coast of Donegal and off Co Antrim.

Al Mennie is hunting down the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed and has been carefully studying the spots. In extreme surfing conditions, a small error might cost a life.

The midyear rotation in the 2012 ASP World Tour has been deactivated. "Scheduling uncertainties" have been cited as the primary reason for the decision taken by the Association of Surfing Professionals' Board of Directors.

"This has been an extremely challenging decision for us to make," says Dave Prodan, ASP International spokesman. "We believe that the 2011 rotation brought in some incredible talent that proved they deserved to be amongst the world’s best with their performances throughout the back half of the year".

"However, the instability of the ASP schedule (especially in 2012) makes the concept very difficult to manage. Where would we schedule the rotation? How do we ensure there are fair and balanced opportunities in every rotation for surfers to qualify?"

"As we have been since our inception, we are a sport governed by the surfers for the surfers and it is in this spirit that we have voted to deactivate the midyear rotation in 2012. We believe this decision is best for the upcoming season and we will continue to discuss the future of the rotation within the sport", adds Prodan.

Judging waves in pro surfing contests is not an easy task. Error is part of the human nature and it is impossible to be 100% accurate in the evaluation of one thousand waves.

To put things into perspective, how many waves do you think were surfed during the 2011 Pipeline Masters? The answer is 490 waves, in 52 heats. Thirty four waves were rated in the "Excellent" level, 44 in the "Good" range, 63 were "Regular" waves and 130 were considered "Poor" rides.

Richard Porta, head judge of the Association of Surfing Professionals, explained to our friends at Surfer Magazine what the main variables are when you're judging a pro wave ride. So, do you want to be a pro surfing judge?

First of all, you have to kick off your career at the club level then go to regional, state, and then onto the pro juniors followed by the smaller Star events. Later, if you're lucky, you're ready for the Prime and World Tour stages.

Do you remember the best surf session of your life? Where did you surf it? How were the waves? What are the best images of that day? Were you surfing with friends?

"The Best Session Ever" is the new iPhone app that allows you to log, record, geo-locate, statistically track and share your remarkable surfing sessions with the entire world.

"We wanted to create a tool for extreme sports athletes to keep track of their sessions, enabling them to promote themselves to an online exclusive community and share their extreme sport experiences in a simple crisp and clear format. The action sport youth culture is exploding and so is the smartphone market, so why not combine them both", explains Gary Benet, creator of "The Best Session Ever" app.

With the new app you can register up to six different summer and winter extreme sports including surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, snowboarding, skiing and skateboarding in a simple easy to understand and clear format.

Life is a mystery. Sean Collins, the founder of Surfline, has passed away on the 26th December, after suffering a heart attack while playing tennis with his wife, Daren. Collins, 59, was probably the best surf forecaster in the world. He leaves the world of surfing and the his Surfline co-workers in a state of shock.

Sean Collins was born on April 8th, 1952, in Southern California. He became interested in meteorology, through sailing and then surfing. He started riding waves at the age of eight. "I was always looking at charts to plan my surfing and sailing, and developed a keen sense about the ocean", he once said.

Sean Collins worked for Yary Sports Photography, Berzon Talent Agency and for Surfing Magazine. In the 80's, he was already a swell guru and passed information about the wave conditions to his close friends.