Bodyboarding owns it! A bodyboard, known in surfing slang as a 'sponge',
is a form of surfboard consisting of a small roughly
rectangular piece of foam, shaped to a hydrodynamic
form. The bodyboard is ridden in a similar way to
the better known surfboard, but is predominately ridden
lying down, (or 'prone'). It can also be ridden in
a half-standing stance (known as 'drop knee') or can
even be ridden standing up. The vast majority of body
boarders usually wear swim fins on both feet to aid
in paddling out and taking off.
The bodyboard differs from a surf board in that it
is much shorter. Typically they are 42 inches in length,
with a squared off nose and angular rails. They are
designed to be flexible, and bodyboarders as a whole
are more experimental with various materials than
their stand-up cousins. The board is made up of a
'core', made from polypropylene, Dow, or arced. These
are types of plastic, and each gives a bodyboard a
different amount of flex and control for the rider.
Glued to this core is a thick plastic bottom (known
as the 'slick') which gives the bodyboard strength
and speed. The top of the bodyboard (the deck) is
made from softer plastic to give grip and cushioning
to the rider. Unlike a surfboard, there is no fin
or skews allowing the rider to rotate the board. But,
like the surfboard, a bodyboard can be made with a
stringer (or two) to further increase its stiffness.
If one so desires, a skew can be purchased and installed
in about 1 minute. A skew can minimize the looseness
that is required for many tricks. This has led to
a large decrease in the presence of skews. It is also
biform to call a bodyboard a "Boogie Board"
unless the bodyboard is actually a Boogie brand bodyboard.
Although bodyboarding is seen as surfing easier cousin,
beyond the beginner level they are equal in the time
and dedication it takes to become proficient. The
sport differs somewhat in attitude. Body boarding
is more tricks orientated than surfing, and there
are hundreds of variations of maneuver possible. It
is considered rather bad form to simply ride along
in a straight line. Bodyboarders regularly go for
'lip moves' which involve riding up to the lip of
the wave with as much speed as possible, and then
taking to the air and performing very gymnastic maneuver
high above the surface, before slamming back down.
Bodyboarding is arguably the earliest form of surfing,
and is ultimately derived from the ancient Hawaiian
Piano board, which was ridden lying down. The modern
invention of the bodyboard is credited to Tom Morey,
who sold very basic body boards, (known then as Boogie
Boards) by mail order. They were very crude by today's
standard, but were easy to ride and became popular. We love the sport of bodyboarding
