True @superfluousman! I can definitely relate as I have surfed and enjoyed the creative flow and style of surfing yet chafed over the years at the cookie cutter, impoverished repertoire and vibe of pro surfing. Then in an unexpected twist, started surfing in some amateur longboard contests and enjoyed it in the last couple of years. Surfing contests has been fun in pushing and exploring the technical performance aspects. And yet it has had somewhat of a negative effect on my creative board riding because there is a tendency to view the board riding endeavor through the competition lens. So I sometimes find myself practicing and perfecting the same limited range of maneuvers on a longboard skateboard (as surf training) rather than the much larger and more creative range of goofy fun creative stuff that is more of my natural creative flow!
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That's awesome, I don't have a thing against contests, I actually like watching certain ones, but I think Bobby Martinez who is easily one of the best surfers was right when he said the sole focus on contests and appealing to judges makes surfing boring.
I do that as well,using a carver skateboard; the technical performance aspects are essential as a foundation, though I think when you focus only on that your creativity starts to diminish. Regardless, surfing can be fun no matter you do it, I just needed to critique it so I can compare with other arts.