Surfing Terms / Glossary

Surfing Terms / Glossary Related Information:

Aerial: a surfing trick in which the board takes off from the lip of a wave, travels back and lands on the wave to continue on.

Ankle Stop: a wave that is too small to ride

Backhand : surfing while facing away from the wave

Barrel : also called a tube, it is the inside part of a hollow wave

Body Surfing : Surfing using the body and a minimum of equipment

Channel : the trench between the sand banks or reefs

Clean : smooth surfing conditions

Ding : damage to the surfboard

Drop in : taking off on a wave that another surfer has already ridden

Dumped : pushed underwater by a wave

Eskimo Roll : getting through a large or broken wave without being washed ashore

Face : forward facing part of the wave

Gnarly : treacherous

Goofy-footed : placing the right foot forward while surfing

Hang Five : a nose riding trick with the toes of one foot curled around the nose of the surfboard

Hang ten : using the toes of both feet curled around the nose of the surfboard

Kick Out : a controlled exit from the top of the wave

Overhead : a large wave usually taller than the surfer

Pearl : when the surfer tips off forward because the nose of the board digs into the water

Quimby : a novice surfer

Rail : the sides of the surfboard

Re-entry : turning on the kip of the wave so that the surfer can come back down into the face of the wave

Set : a series of waves

Shrop : the worst surfing conditions

Stall : slowing the surfboard to allow the surfer to catch the wave

Tail : The rear of the surfboard

Take off : catching the wave to begin the ride

Terminate : exiting a wave ungracefully

360 : turning the board in a complete circle into the wave

Tombstoning : when the surfboard is bobbing up and down on the ocean