Boardsports are active outdoor sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrain, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considered action sports or

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

, and thus often appeal to youth. Some board sports were marginalized in the past. However, many board sports are gaining mainstream recognition, and with this recognition have enjoyed wider broadcast, sponsorship and inclusion in institutional sporting events, including the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

is the first known boardsport, originating from

Polynesian culture Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras: *Exploration and se ...

Skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

was then invented by surfers looking to "surf" on land. It is hard to estimate when most boardsports were "invented" because people have been making homemade versions throughout history. For example, it is not hard to conceive of a person, who is familiar with the concept of

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

sledding Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled (North American), a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, sk ...

, standing sideways on a plank of wood and riding down a snow-covered slope. M.J. "Jack" Burchett is credited with first doing this in 1929, using horse reins and clothesline to secure his feet on the plank of wood. Most boardsports have similar, equally unknown origins. Using data collected in the past decade, it is estimated there are 18-50 million skateboarders, 5-25 million surfers, and 10-20 million

snowboarder Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

s in the world. Approximately 100 million people participate in boardsports worldwide.

Classifications

There are a variety of board sports, which are characterized by terrain: Surf, Snow, Wake, Skate are the primary.

Water

;

: The grandfather of all board sports, is a surface water sport that involves the participant being carried by a breaking wave. ; Stand Up Paddle Surfing (SUP):A variant of surfing where one always a stands up on the board and propels oneself by a one-bladed paddle, without lying down on the board. Although originally the goal was to catch and surf the waves, a racing modality has emerged with similarities to kayaking. ;

Skimboarding Skimboarding or skimming is a boardsport in which a skimboard (much like a surfboard but smaller and without fins) is used to glide across the water's surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and ride it back to shore. Wave-riding skimboarders ...

(1930s) :A discipline of surfing involving riding a board on wet sand or shallow water. A predominantly recreational activity that has evolved into a highly competitive water sport. ;

Windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

(1970) : Also known as ''sailboarding''. A water sport involving travel over water on a small 2-4.7 metre board powered by wind acting on a single sail. The sail is connected to the board by a flexible joint ;

Bodyboarding Bodyboarding is a water sport in which the surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore. Bodyboarding is also referred to as ''Boogieboarding'' due to the invention of the "Boogie ...

(1971) : Wave riding consisting of a small, roughly rectangular piece of foam, shaped to a hydrodynamic form. The bodyboard is ridden predominantly lying down, (or 'prone'). It can also be ridden in a half-standing stance (known as 'dropknee') or can even be ridden standing up. ;

Kneeboarding Kneeboarding is an aquatic sport where the participant is towed on a buoyant, convex, and hydrodynamically shaped board at a planing speed, most often behind a motorboat. Kneeboarding on a surf style board with fin(s) is also done in waves at ...

(1973) :A discipline of surfing where the rider paddles on his belly into a wave on a kneeboard, then rides the wave face typically on both knees. ;

Riverboarding Riverboarding is a boardsport in which the participant lies prone on their board with fins on their feet for propulsion and steering. This sport is also known as hydrospeed in Europe and as riverboarding or white-water sledging in New Zealand, dep ...

(1978) : A boardsport in which the participant is prone on the board with fins on his/her feet for propulsion and steering. ;

Wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...

(1983) : A surface watersport created from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. As in water skiing, the rider is towed behind a boat, or a

cable skiing Cable skiing is a way to water ski (or wakeboard), in which the skier's rope and handle are pulled by an electrically-driven cable, whereas traditionally a waterskier is pulled by a motorboat. The mechanism consists of two cables running paral ...

setup. ;

Skurfing Skurfing is a towed water sport similar to waterskiing, in that an individual is pulled behind a boat on a tow rope. However, instead of water skis, the sport uses a skurfboard which is a floating platform the user balances on, similar to a surf ...

(1984) :Another fast growing boardsport is

skurfing Skurfing is a towed water sport similar to waterskiing, in that an individual is pulled behind a boat on a tow rope. However, instead of water skis, the sport uses a skurfboard which is a floating platform the user balances on, similar to a surf ...

a mix of surfing and more conventional water sports in which the participant is towed behind the boat. ;

Flowriding Flowriding or Flowboarding is a late-20th century alternative boardsport incorporating elements of surfing, bodyboarding, skateboarding, skimboarding, snowboarding and wakeboarding. The FlowRider and the FlowBarrel are artificial waves t ...

(1991) : Similar to surfing but done on a man-made artificial sheet wave. ;

Wakeskating Wakeskating is a water sport and an adaptation of wakeboarding that employs a similar design of board manufactured from maple or fibreglass. Unlike wakeboarding, the rider is not bound to the board in any way, similar to the skateboard, from which ...

(1990s) :A rider is pulled behind a boat on a wakeskate which is smaller than a wakeboard and has no bindings with a foam or griptape surface. ;

Kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

(1996) : Also known as ''kiteboarding''. Boards similar to those known from windsurfing or wakeboarding are propelled by an inflatable or foil power kite, allowing for high speeds and high jumps. Other variations are to use a wheeled board or buggy on land, or skis or a snowboard on snow. ;

Wakesurfing Wakesurfing is a water sport in which a rider trails behind a boat, riding the boat's wake without being directly pulled by the boat. After getting up on the wake, typically by use of a tow rope, the wakesurfers will drop the rope, and ride the ...

(1997) : A rider is pulled behind a boat on a mini surfboard and can ride the boat's wake with no rope.

Land

Paved surface

;

(1950) : Uses a board mounted on wheels, and often ridden on a half-pipe, in urban settings, or emptied specially built swimming pools. ;

Longboarding Longboarding is typically defined as a variation of skateboarding that involves a larger board and softer urethane wheels. Longboards vary in shape and size. Compared to skateboards, longboards are more stable at speed and have more traction, du ...

(1970s) : Similar to freeboarding but with long skateboards that come in different shapes and sizes, longboarding is mostly a racing sport but there are many other styles as well. ;

Snakeboard A Snakeboard, also known as streetboard, or pivotboard is a board that was invented in South Africa in 1989 by James Fisher, Simon King and Oliver Macleod Smith. The concept was to fuse the original skateboard with elements of snowboarding and s ...

(1989) : Similar to skateboarding, but also influenced heavily by snowboarding. ;

Freestyle scootering Freestyle scootering (also known as scootering or scooter riding) is an extreme sport that involves using kick scooters to perform freestyle tricks. This is done mainly in skateparks but also in urban environments on obstacles such as stairs, ha ...

(1996) : an action sport which involves using scooters to perform freestyle tricks, in a manner similar to skateboarding and BMX freestyle. ;

Carveboarding Carveboarding is a boardsport on hard surfaces (roads, sidewalks, etc.). It is also known as surfskating when using a surfskate, which has smaller wheels. Carveboard is also the brand name of the board which popularized the practice of this sport, ...

: A board that has wheels similar to a car except smaller, it turns better than most boards on four wheels, its main purpose is to cruise and carve, it can turn 65 degrees, and has spring-loaded trucks that are almost as unique as a flowboards trucks. ; Freeboarding: Often said to be the board whose feel is the most similar to snowboarding. There are two extra castor wheels in the middle of the base that are somewhat lower than the other four. This allows the rider to distribute his weight to only one "edge", as in snowboarding. This gives the rider the ability to slide, an ability no other land board has besides the longboard. ;

Caster board A caster board, vigorboard or waveboard is a two-wheeled, human-powered land vehicle. Other names are J-board and RipStik (sometimes written ripstick or rip stick), both of which are derived from commercial brands. A caster board has two narrow ...

: Two narrow platforms known as "decks" are adjoined by a rubber or aluminium coated metal beam that houses a strong spring. Each truck has one wheel that is connected to the board in such a way that each wheel can rotate independently. Both wheels are mounted on slants that measure around 30° in angle, facing away from the front of the board. Similar to Vigorboard (2003) : Constructed from two platforms, each supported by a single caster with a single wheel giving the board a total of two wheels. the two platforms are connected by heavy metal torsion bar that enables the board to twist in the centre. ; Street Skurfing : Similar to Caster board, but the rider can move both feet independently. ;

Freeline skates Freeskates consist of two separate metal or wooden plates with two wheels attached. People call it freeskating, freeline skating, or drift skating. History They were developed in 2003 in San Francisco by Ryan Farrelly. Farrelly founded a company c ...

(2000's) : A pair of skates designed to give the feeling of skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, and inline skates all in one. Freeline Skates are extremely portable, making them the smallest and lightest form of transportation. See also Street Skurfing. ; Street surfing : A split deck board connected by a spring rod to allow each half of the board to twist independently from the other, each side only having 1 caster wheel, allowing for tight maneuvers and self propulsion. ; On-shore boards : A type of board that has four inline wheels and four in the back (two on each side) and is deeply concave in the front. ;

T-board A T-board is a Longboard (skateboard), longboard skateboard with only two wheels, designed to mimic the sensation of carving on a snowboard. The design differs from a traditional skateboard in a way similar to how rollerblades differ from traditio ...

ing :A skateboard deck with two wheels that can spin 360 degrees.

Off-paved surface

;

Land windsurfing Land windsurfing, also known as “Terrasailing”, “street sailing”, “land sailing” and “dirt windsurfing”, is a sport similar to traditional windsurfing that is performed on land rather than water. A four wheeled deck, similar to ...

: A sport similar to traditional windsurfing that is performed on land rather than water. A four-wheeled deck, similar to a mountain board or skateboard deck, is commonly used in conjunction with a mast and sail in order to project the board across land. ;

Mountainboarding Mountainboarding, also known as Dirtboarding, Offroad Boarding, and All-Terrain Boarding (ATB), is a well establishedWall Street Journal, April 16th 1998 if little-known action sport, derived from snowboarding. This was initially pioneered by J ...

(1992) : Similar to snowboarding, but on snowless peaks (in between winter seasons). The board is wider and sturdier.

is similar to skateboarding in the way that mountainbiking is similar to regular biking. ;

Kite landboarding Kite landboarding, also known as land kiteboarding or flyboarding, is based on the sport of kitesurfing, where a rider on a surf-style board is pulled over water by a kite. Kite landboarding involves the use of a mountain board or landboard, whic ...

: Similar to Kite Surfing but the kite is used to pull the rider along flat ground (often a hard packed sandy beach) on a mountainboard

Snow

;

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

(1977) :A cross between skateboarding and skiing, the board medium is snow, although the condition of the snow can have a major impact on snowboarding style and technique. The four subcategories are freeride, freestyle, alpine and powder. ;

Snowskating A snowskate is a hybrid of a skateboard and a snowboard, intended primarily to allow for skateboard-style tricks on the snow. There are many types depending on the brand or style of snowskate. History and design The first snowskate traces i ...

(1998) :This is similar to snowboarding but there are no bindings used. Instead the snow skate has a foam grip similar to griptape, enabling you to do skateboard style tricks. There are four main types of snowskates: Single deck (a skateboard-deck-like platform made out of either wood and/or plastic; Bilevel (similar to a skate board but, instead of trucks and wheels, a small ski with metal edges called a subdeck is used with special trucks to be used on a ski hill); 4x4 (a skateboard but the wheels are replaced by very small skis); Powderskate (can either be like a Bilevel snowskate or a single deck snowskate but longer and wider). ;

Snowkiting Snowkiting or kite skiing is an outdoor winter sport where people use kite power to glide on snow or ice. The skier uses a kite to give them power over large jumps. The sport is similar to water-based kiteboarding, but with the footwear used in ...

: This is when a kite is used to pull a snowboarder along.

Sand

;

Sandboarding Sandboarding is a boardsport and extreme sport similar to snowboarding that involves riding across or down a sand dune while standing on a board, either with both feet strapped in or while standing loose, without bindings. Sandboarding can als ...

: A recreational activity similar to snowboarding that takes place on sand dunes rather than snow-covered hills.

Air

;

Skysurfing Sky surfing is a type of skydiving and extreme sport in which the skydiver wears a custom skysurf board attached to the feet and performs surfing-style aerobatics during freefall. The boards used are generally smaller than actual surfboards, ...

: A kind of skydiving in which the skydiver wears a board attached to their feet and performs surfing-style aerobatics during freefall.

References

{{Human-powered vehicles Sports by type Outdoor recreation Individual sports Transport culture