BODYBOARDING

'Bodyboarding' is a form of wave riding. The board 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.

Contents

History

The Board

The Radical Revolution

Aspects of the Revolution

Famous bodyboarding locations

USA

South Africa

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Brazil

Japan

Pacific

Spain

Aruba

Mexico

References

Further reading

External links

Media

See also

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 used 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 and his partner, Richard Lawrence, 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. A Los Angeles Times on April 13, 1976 profiled Morey and Lawrence, and announced the Boogie Board "craze".

The Board

The bodyboard differs from a surfboard in that it is much shorter and made of foam. 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. Dow/polyethelene cores are best suited to cooler waters as they can be too flexible in warm water and the board does not flex properly A stringer (normally a carbon rod) adds stiffness and recoil to the core, giving greater speed from bottom turns and makes the board stronger. Adding a stringer to a polypropylene/arcel core can make it too stiff for cool water. Speed is created when a bodyboarder bottom turns and the board flexes and recoils, releasing energy. If the board flexes too little or too easily, speed is lost.
Crescent tails provide the greatest amount of hold for a rider in steep waves, but can make it harder to make the tail slide deliberately. A square tail has the opposite properties to a crescent tail and a bat tail can give the hold of a crescent tail, but it's easier to slide the tail. The bat tail also makes the board slightly longer in the middle, which helps keeps the riders legs out of the water, reducing drag.
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, in turn 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. Circa 2006 concave bottoms were being tested.

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.
The shape of the board greatly affects how it works. If the wide point of the board is near the nose, the board is best suited to prone riding as the riders weight is further up on the board. A board with a wide point near the middle of the board and a narrow nose is ideal for dropknee riding as the rider is further back when dropkneeing and a narrow nose makes the board behave more like a surfboard, making dropknee moves easier.

The Radical Revolution

Mike Stewart, Barry 'Baz' Ellis and Guilherme Tâmega were the only bodyboarders that made the transition from the old school and kept ranked in the world top 24 bodyboarders. Mike Stewart with 9 world titles and 11 Pipeline victories, is still regarded as the absolute master of the sport.

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 manoeuvres 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, José Otávio, and Blake Dickson 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, Invert Airs 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 below 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.

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 Sydney Australia's Shark Island are ridden almost exclusively by advanced and expert bodyboarders due to it being virtually impossible to stand-up in such wave conditions.

USA

★ The Wedge 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.

★ Point Mugu in Oxnard, California, USA.

★ Sand Dollar in Big Sur, California, USA.

★ La Jolla in San Diego, California, USA.

★ Imperial Beach in San Diego, California, USA.

★ Davis Park in Fire Island, New York, USA.

★ Salt Creek in Dana Point, California, USA.

★ Jenks in Point Pleasent, New Jersey, USA.

South Africa

★ "Cave Rock" Bluff, Durban Spot Photos

★ "Donkey Kong Island" Rocky Bay, Durban Spot Photos

★ "The Wedge" Plettenberg Bay, Southern Cape Spot Photos

★ "North Beach" Durban, Central Kwa-Zulu Natal Spot Photos

★ "Hoek" Noordhoek, Western Province Spot Photos

★ "Kalk Bay" Western Province

★ "Lucien" Margate, Southern Kwa-Zulu Natal Spot Photos

★ "Llanduno" Cape Town, Western Province

★ "Gas Chambers" Western Province Spot Photos

Portugal

★ Cave in Ericeira, Portugal. - A very quick reef break right, where you make the tube of your live or you will know the rocks from a diferent angle.

★ Pedra Branca in Ericeira, Portugal. - A point-break left with world class quality.

★ Reef in Ericeira, Portugal. - Right reef break where you can't make basic errors.

★ Crazy Left in Ericeira, Portugal.

★ SuperTubos in Peniche, Portugal. - Like the name says, a beach break where tuberiding is the word of order.

★ Praia Grande in Sintra, Portugal. - Home of Sintra Portugal Pro

★ Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal. - If you whant it big...

★ Troll in Porto, Portugal.

★ Calhau in Carcavelos, Portugal.

Puerto Rico

★ Gas Chambers in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, USA

★ Wilderness in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, USA

★ Chatarra in Loiza, Puerto Rico, USA

★ Tres Palmas in Rincon, Puerto Rico, USA

Brazil

★ Itacoatiara, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

★ São Conrado beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (famous for numerous Rocinha bodyboarders)

Japan

★ Kugenuma, Kanagawa,Japan

★ Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan

★ Kamogawa, Chiba,Japan

★ Kujukuri, Chiba, Japan

Pacific

★ Teahupoo, Tahiti, French Polynesia

★ "Sweaty Muff" Vanuatu

★ G-Land (Garajagan) East Java, Indonesia

★ Padang Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia

★ Cloud 9, Surigao Islands, Philippines

★ Bagasbas Beach, Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines

Spain

★ Frontón, Canary Islands

Aruba

★ Andicuri, Aruba

★ Sharkbay, Aruba

★ Wariruri, Aruba

★ Manchebo, Aruba

★ Dos Playa, Aruba

★ Rincon, Aruba

★ Spot, Aruba

★ Rancho, Aruba

Mexico

★ Playa Zicatela, Puerto Escondido, Mexico

★ Punta Colorada, Puerto Escondido, Mexico

★ Pasquales, Colima, Mexico

★ Nexpa, Michoacan,Mexico

★ Lázaro Cárdenas,Michoacan, Mexico

★ La Ticla, Michoacan, Mexico

References

Further reading

★ Severson, Ben with Jake Grubb (1986). ''Bodyboard Handbook.'' Newport Beach, California: Grubb Stake Media Ltd. ASIN: B000GKJSQ6

External links

★ IBA Tour - the governing body of world bodyboarding

★ British Bodyboard Club The newly launched homepage for Bodyboarding in the UK

★ EastCoastBodyboarding The home for bodyboarding on the East Coast region of the USA

★ BBA - Governing Body of bodyboarding in Australiasia

★ [1] - Bodyboarder Hawaii Myspace

Media

★ Movement Bodyboard Magazine - Australian Bodyboarding Magazine

★ Bodyboarder Magazine - United States Bodyboarding Magazine

★ A-framemag - Online Bodyboarding Magazine

★ Sixty40 Bodyboarding South Africa's Online Bodyboarding Community & Magazine

★ Vert Magazine - Portuguese Bodyboarding Magazine

★ Bodyboarding WA - Large Western Australian based online bodyboarding community and information/news source, most active forums in the industry

See also

★ Riverboarding
Riptide bodyboarding magazine
boogie blog www.bodyboardnews.blogspot.com