subject: The Awesome And Wonderful Sport Of Surfing [print this page] There are many extreme sports that people practice, but we won't be lying if we tell you that surfing is one of the most extreme sports up to date. The first information we know about surfers dates from the old 1767 when people riding boards in the water were spotted near the Tahiti island. Since that moment surfing hasn't stopped developing. The main places where surfers surf are oceans and seas, but rivers can also be used as a surfing ground. However rivers are usually calm and there are not any waves. Rivers are mainly the training ground for apprentice surfers. However surfing isn't only performed for fun, annually there a number of competitions that offer great awards and prices to the most experienced surfers.
As any other sport surfing also has different classes - the two main ones are shortboarding and the more popular longboarding. Those two styles differ mainly by the type of the surfing board used and the riding technique. However surfing is a sport that depends on the weather conditions, often surfers are left disappointed due to the lack of big waves in the sea or ocean, in this case the waves are called flat waves. At that moment some of them take a break while others try to practice their surfing skills on sidewalks, paved roads and even swimming pools.
Surfers can be met at every location that is near water. However the biggest concentration of surfers is in the USA. And if we have to be more specific - these are the areas of Miami, California and Hawaii. There is no age limit for surfing. Most surfers are teen age, but there are also some more mature people who surf from time to time and feel the adrenaline rush. Of course surfing isn't only for fun, but can also be used for advertising or business. It's no secret that surfing is a multi-million business in the USA where each year millions of dollars are made from the sales of gear & equipment.
There are many different maneuvers and tricks that surfers use to increase the adrenaline from the experience or just to impress the watching crowd. But surely one of the most famous tricks is the so called tube ride. It isn't so entertaining for the crowd, but is surely one of the most beautiful things that a surfer can see in a wave. The tube ride means that when the wave is going down to crush a hollow section appears in it and the surfer enters that section getting surrounded by water. Depending on the wave this can last several seconds, but you have to be very experienced to catch the moment in which you should enter and leave the hollow point.
The "hanging ten" is another difficult trick. This is a trick where the surfer goes to the front of his board and puts both of his feet on the edge so that his ten toes will be off the board. That is a very extreme and hard trick to perform and it requires a lot of practice and training. As you can see surfing is dangerous sport, but the adrenaline boost which it provides is still enjoyed by many.
