Water Sports: A Surfer's Resource Guide
Surfing is one of the most storied of all water sports. After all, it’s been featured all through popular culture, especially in television shows and movies, and few athletes have been portrayed as being cooler than a surfer. Surfing offers benefits beyond just being cool, though. It’s actually a fantastic physical workout. Surfing also offers a host of mental benefits, including giving people the rare chance to completely disengage from the stressors of their everyday lives. Many people have also found surfing their gateway to traveling to new places and making new friends.
According to National Geographic, all that’s needed to surf is a good wave, a board, and someone brave enough to climb up on the board!
Everything You Need to Know About Surfing
There are five different kinds of surfing. The sports include wave surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, wakeboarding, and skimboarding.
Beginners should only surf at spots safe for people still learning the sport for their own safety and the safety of other surfers.
Learning how to balance and, just as importantly, learning how to read the ocean are two abilities surfers must develop.
Surfing offers a cardiovascular workout, and also helps those who take up the sport strengthen their backs, legs, and core.
Health Benefits of Surfing for Body and Mind
The complete concentration required when surfing is a great way to let go of stress.
10 Reasons Why Surfing is Good for Your Health
Surfing is an athletic activity based on patience, which has great physical and mental benefits.
The Physical, Mental, & Spiritual Health Benefits of Surfing
Improved flexibility is one benefit of surfing.
People interested in achieving a flow state, when everything else in life falls away and the person is just in the moment, should try surfing.
16 Unusual Health Benefits Of Surfing You Likely Never Knew…
Looking to lose weight? Surfing might be the ultimate fat-burning activity.
10 New England Surf Spots Worth Visiting
Although most people imagine the dramatic waves found in warm water beaches, cold water surfing has its fans and some spots in Rhode Island and Maine are gorgeous and fun!
North Carolina’s Outer Banks offer beautiful and rugged surf spots, especially for people interested in kitesurfing.
One lesser-known spot is New Smyrna Beach. Tucked inside an inlet on the Atlantic Ocean style of the state, the small beach town is known to locals as the wave magnet.
The Gulf Coast isn’t regarded as a great surf spot, but Sarasota offers great waves and a wonderful surfing experience.
Surfside and South Padre Island are two of the most popular surfing spots in Texas.
California has many amazing surfing spots, from La Jolla to Windansea Beach, for surfers of all skill levels to enjoy.
Best Beaches for Novices in California
Those still learning how to control their boards should stay at surf spots that are safe for beginners.
Top 10 Surf Towns in Latin America
Many surfers agree that the coast of Oaxaca in Mexico offers great surfing for beginners and experienced surfers alike.
The 20 Best Surf Camps & Beaches in Asia
Mirissa Beach in Sri Lanka offers affordable board rentals, lots of activities other than surfing, and great waves.
Maui’s Launiupoko State Wayside Park is the perfect place for surfers new to the sport to experience some tropical waves.
7 of the Best Surf Camps in Australia
Surf camps let people either new to the activity or those looking to level up their skills get intense surfing instruction and vacation all at the same time.
Surfing in Africa and the Diaspora
There’s a long tradition of surfing in Africa. Historically, Africans have used boards between three and five feet.
Surfs Up! 5 of Africa’s Best Surfing Spots
Africa has more than 19 million miles of coastline. Various countries on the continent are just starting to advertise themselves as surfing destinations, meaning there are plenty of spots for surfers to discover that won’t be crowded by other people chasing the perfect wave.
The 9 Best Surfing Destinations in Europe
Warmer spots in Portugal, Spain, and Italy are expected, but the much cooler seaside area of Cornwall in the United Kingdom is an unexpected gem of a surf spot.
World’s Best Surf Destinations
Set sail for Bali and Costa Rica, two of the amazing places for surfers to put on their wave-chasing bucket lists.
13 Coolest Surf Towns for Sunshine and Epic Waves
Canada might not be anyone’s first thought when they think of a sunny spot, but Tofino is known as the surf capital of Canada for a reason. Located on Vancouver Island and featuring a wild, untamed landscape it’s a great place for surfers who enjoy longboarding.
Glossary of Surfing Terms and Surf Slang
Surfing has its own vocabulary. For example, bailing means jumping off the board to avoid a bad encounter with a wave, other surfers, or any other sort of danger when in the water.
15 Useful Tips for Beginning Surfers
No one can learn to surf alone. Find an experienced friend, join a class, or travel to a surf camp so that learning to catch a wave happens in a safe way.
Surfing is a great way to make friends, but it’s also a great way to learn how to be alone with yourself. After all, out there on a board, there’s only the ocean, the board, and the surfer.
It’s possible to learn to surf later in life, and anyone interested should find a class or camp and give it a try!
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