Body Boarding
Body Boarding is also called boogie boarding. This is a surface water sport invented by Tom Morey. The body board is made up of hydromantic foam. This foam is rectangular in shape with a ridged spine or “stinger.” It also has swim-fins. This way, the boarder can control the board while riding the waves. Body boarding started in the Paipo boards of Hawaii. It quickly became famous from 1970 to 2010.
Body Board Style
The shapes of the boards are designed for the appropriate needs of the boarder. These specific needs are height, weight and style of riding. The styles of the boards are classified into prone, drop knee, and stand-up. When you ride the wave while you layout flat on your body, then you need a prone style body board. If you want your flat foot forward and placed flat on the deck while your knee to your ankle of the back leg lay flat on the board, then you need a drop knee style board. If you need both your feet on the deck, then you need a stand-up style of body board.
Old school Body Boarding
The old school way of the body boarding is a more fluid way style of surfing. This is also an easier way of doing the sport. Old school body boarding can let you do some of the basic tricks of this water sport. The basic tricks are spinning, cut backs, and the El Rollo or Body Roll, which is the trademark trick of Body Boarding.
Modern Body Boarding
Compared to old school body boarding, the modern style of body boarding is more of the aerial maneuvers, where the boarder rides bigger waves. These big waves serve as the launching platforms for these aerial maneuvers done by modern body boarders. Spinners and aerial reverse are some of the aerial tricks of the modern body boarding style. The El Rollo is also done in the modern body boarding style but in a more sophisticated way. The Air Roll Spin or ARS is a type of evolved El Rollo, which was popularized by Michael Eppelstun. Modern body boarders are more focused on riding the barrel of the waves. They do a lot of tricks while riding the barrel of the waves. Some of the most common tricks they do while riding the barrels of the waves are inverts, reverse spins, aerial spins, barrel spins, back flips and the ARS.
Insurance for Body Boarders
Body boarding is quite a dangerous sport and therefore prone of injuries. To protect yourself and your family any body boarder should consider insurance. Injuries is a big part of body boarder life so income protection insurance is a must have insurance. It protects your salary if you can’t work due to an injury you suffered while body boarding. However some deaths also are common among body boarders, so life insurance is nice addition to any body boarders security.
Male Body Boarders
One of the most famous body boarders is Mike Stewart. He is also considered as the father of body boarding. He won 9 consecutive world titles. While Amaury Lavernhe, French body boarder is now the current World Tour champion. While the Brazilian Body boarder, Guilherme Tamega is the most successful competitor on the world tour. All these three big names will be competing for the world tour.
Female Body Boarders
The first person to ride the big Waimea wave of the North Shore of Hawaii was a woman named Phylis Dameron, during the 1970s. It was still a woman to first ride the big Pipe during the 1980s and her name is Carol Philips. There are so many other great women body boarders out there.