Bodyboarding
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bodyboarding is a form of wave riding using a bodyboard, which consists of a small roughly rectangular piece of foam, shaped to a hydrodynamic form. The bodyboard is predominantly ridden lying down ('prone'). It can also be ridden in a half-standing stance with one knee touching the board known as 'dropknee'. The bodyboard may even be ridden standing up. The vast majority of bodyboarders usually wear swimfins on both feet to aid in controlling trajectory, adjusting speed while riding, paddling out, and taking off.
'Sponge', 'boog' or 'Esky lid' are derogatory terms used to describe bodyboards.
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[edit] History
Bodyboarding is the earliest form of wave surfing. Journals from as early as 1778 describe Hawaiian men riding waves on paipo boards. "...a diversion most common is upon the Water, where there is a very great Sea, & surf breaking on the Shore. The Men sometimes 20 or 30 go without the Swell of the Surf, & lay themselves flat upon an oval piece of plank about their Size & breadth, they keep their legs close on top of it, & their Arms are us’d to guide the plank." (Lt. James King, 1778, Kealakekua Bay, Hawai`i, from King’s unedited log of 1778).
However the modern invention of the bodyboard is credited to Tom Morey, who sold very basic bodyboards, (known then as Boogie Boards) by mail order. Morey innovated several qualities of surf board technology used today, though the 1971 versions were very crude by today's standard, but were easy to ride and became popular. It is incorrect to call a bodyboard a boogie board unless the bodyboard is actually a Boogie brand bodyboard.
[edit] The board
The bodyboard differs from a surfboard in that it is much shorter and made of different material. The board consists of a foam 'core' encapsulated by a plastic bottom and a softer foam top known as the deck. The core is made up from dow/polyethylene, arcel or, more recently, polypropylene. Each type of foam gives the bodyboard a different amount of flex and control for the rider. A bodyboard typically ranges in length from 40 to 42 inches for men, and from 38 to 40 inches for women and smaller riders, with a squared-off nose, angular rails and a tail which is crescent-shaped, straight, or some variation of a 'bat tail' style which have recently become more popular. They are designed to be stiff so that speed can be maximized and bodyboard builders tend to be more experimental with materials than with their stand-up relatives. Within the basic board are many variations. Different riders will prefer different shaped boards depending on there style, such as a drop-knee rider will use a much rounder and more pointed nose.
Glued, or more recently, bonded via a hot air lamination technique, to this core is a thick plastic bottom (known as the 'slick') which gives the board strength and speed. Two main types of 'slick' are present in modern day bodyboards, the first and the better performing of the two is surlyn providing much more strength and projection. Another cheaper type of slick is known as High Density Polyethylene or HDPE, which does not perform to the same standard.
The top of the board (the deck) is made from a softer foam to give grip and cushioning to the rider.
Unlike a surfboard, there is no fin or skegs but most modern boards are equipped with channels that increase surface area in the critical parts of the board which, inturn allow it to have greater wave hold and control, the use of these channels also means that the tail of the board is free to move.
Like the surfboard, a bodyboard can be made with a stringer or two (usually constructed with carbon fiber and graphite in a hollow cylindrical shape) to further increase its stiffness. If one so desires, a skeg can be purchased and installed in about 1 minute. A skeg can minimize the looseness that is required for many tricks and this has led to a large decrease in the presence of skegs which are very rarely and almost exclusively used by drop-knee or stand-up bodyboarders.
[edit] The Radical Revolution
Mike Stewart and Guilherme Tâmega were the only bodyboarders that made the transition from the old school and kept ranked in the world top 24 bodyboarders. Guilherme Tâmega is the top ranked bodyboarder since the establishment of the world tour, winning 6 world titles and Mike Stewart is still regarded as the absolute master of the sport, or simply the "king".
[edit] Aspects of the Revolution
Old school bodyboarding praised a more fluid and easy going style of surfing. The standard tricks were spinners (360° spin) on the wave face either in normal or reverse direction, cut backs and the bodyboarding trademark El Rollo.
Modern bodyboarding, while still praising huge attention to style, is mainly focused on aerial critical maneuvers in heavier and bigger waves. The wave is seen as a ramp. Spinners are now aerial, some bodyboarders managing to execute complete reverse 720° in the air (Jeff Hubbard and José Otávio are good examples). El Rollos are mostly aerial too, and this basic trick evolved into critical variations, like the ARS (Air Roll Spin) where the bodyboarder connects an ordinary aerial El Rollo with an 360° spinner in the air, and the Backflip.
The modern day bodyboarder aims to draw tighter lines and involve a montage of tricks on the one wave. Predominant moves of the modern day include inverts, forward and reverse spins in the air, reverse spins on the face, spins in the barrel, ARS's and backflips.
Note: Although the world tour and world women's tour changed names in the timespan the world titles bellow were recorded, this article assumes as world tour and world women's tour titles those earned after the establishment of the world tour by the current International Bodyboarding Association and its former incarnations.
[edit] Famous bodyboarding locations
Many surfing spots around the world are famous for their hollow, tube-like waves which are favored by bodyboarders. In general, spots favorable for longboard surfing make for poor bodyboarding, whereas most advanced- and expert-level surf spots are also good for bodyboarding. Some particularly hollow or dangerous waves such as Shark Island, Cronulla Beach, Sydney, NSW, Australia and Waimea Shorebreak in Oahu, Hawaii, USA are ridden almost exclusively by advanced and expert bodyboarders due to the extreme difficult to stand-up in such wave conditions.
[edit] USA
- The Wedge (surfing) in [Newport Beach, California], USA.
- Pipeline in Hale`iwa, Hawai`i, USA.
- Waimea Bay Beach Park in Hale`iwa, Hawai`i, USA.
- Sandy Beach in O`ahu, Hawai`i, USA.
- Makapuu in O`ahu, Hawai`i
- T-Street in San Clemente, California, USA.
- Southside at Indian River Inlet, in Delaware, USA.
- Seal Beach in Seal Beach, California, USA.
- Pismo Beach in Pismo Beach, California, USA.
[edit] Australia
- Duranbah in NSW/QLD Border, Australia
- "The Box", WA, Australia
- "North Point", Margaret River, WA, Australia
- Shark Island, Cronulla Beach, Sydney, NSW, Australia - site of the prestigious Shark Island Challenge
- Shipstern in Tasmania, Australia
- "Indicators" on the Central Coast, NSW, Australia
- "Crackneck" on the Central Coast, NSW, Australia
- "The Zone" on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia
- Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
- "Marcus Potts" ((nsw crounulla))
- "Knights", SA, Australia
- "Balmoral", NSW Australia
- "Gunnamatta", VIC Australia
- "Froggies", QLD Australia
- "Y.C.W", VIC Australia
- "Cat Bay/Flyns", VIC Australia
Gravis, W.A, Australia
[edit] Portugal
- Cave in Ericeira, Portugal.
- Pedra Branca in Ericeira, Portugal.
- Crazy Left in Ericeira, Portugal.
- Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal.
- Troll in Porto, Portugal.
- Calhau in Carcavelos, Portugal
[edit] Brazil
- Itacoatiara, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- São Conrado beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (famous for numerous Rocinha bodyboarders)
[edit] Japan
[edit] Pacific
- Teahupoo, Tahiti, French Polynesia
- "Sweaty Muff" Vanuatu
- G-Land (Garajagan) East Java, Indonesia
- Padang Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia
- Cloud 9, Siargao Islands, Philippines
[edit] Spain
- Frontón, Canary Islands
[edit] Aruba
- Andicuri, Aruba
- Sharkbay, Aruba
- Wariruri, Aruba
- Manchebo, Aruba
- Dos Playa, Aruba
[edit] Mexico
[edit] External links
- IBA Tour (the governing body of world bodyboarding)
- British Bodyboard Club The newly launched homepage for Bodyboarding in the UK
