Sandboarding gives you the rush of boarding on sand, as opposed to snowboarding on snow. And if you think it won’t be fast, you’ll want to have a go once you read on.
The ‘Newest’ board sport?
You might think that sandboarding to be the newest board sports. In a way it is new and still not widely known. But, sandboarding is not so “new” as the word might seem. Some sources say ancient Egyptians were sliding down golden dunes of sand on planks of hardened pottery and wood. If this is true it’s easy to wonder about the slopes of the pyramids, how crazy of a ride down would that be!!
What is Sandboarding?
Sandboarding is basically snowboarding or surfing on sand dunes. Sandboarding was influenced by surfing but because the slopes don’t move, like surfing, sandboarding is probably closer to snow boarding. Through the 60’s sandboarding began to gain popularity through surfers and skateboarders who found that riding the dunes was not only challenging but was also alot of fun. Most any type of boarder would pick up this ‘new’ sport in a short time and have a lifetime of fun with it!
In the beginning sandboards were slow and didn’t perform very well on different types of sand or terrain. Improvements were needed if sandboarding was to hold its own. As the development of snowboards evolved so too did sandboards. “The similarities between the two sports allowed us to use their research. You might say that sandboards were developed by all the best snowboard designers in a way.” claims board master, Pete Pilcic. “By keeping up with the current technology on snow and stuff we were able to bring the ride of a sandboard to the same level without spending all the dollars.”
While snowboards certainly influenced the sandboard’s design other details needed to be worked out. The base surfaces used on snowboards were excellent for snow but on sand didn’t get the job done. Improvements had to come to bring sandboard speeds up. One big improvement came in the form of a familiar surface material most commonly known by it’s brand name, “Formica”. Specially formulated waxes pushed acceleration to the next level. New materials were developed that glided even better! Now sandboards would streak to the bottom of even medium sized dunes at speeds that would scare their riders! We call it success.
Technology lends a hand
Through the amazing growth of the INTERNET sandboarders found each other for the first time from all over the world. It turns out there were several thousand sandboarders out there who were making boards and carving dunes completely unknown to each other and thinking they were the only ones doing this crazy sport! Magazine, newspaper and television recognized the potential of sandboard and soon, sandboarding was popping up in major publications, television commercials, boards and accessories were advertised, web sites multiplied and events leaped to life. It seemed the world was now ready for sandboarding!
Body Sandboarding
Just like bodyboarding where you lie down on your board, body sandboarding is becoming hugely popular across sand dunes all over the world. You need a long flexible piece of hardboard to lie down on. You need to make sure that you keep the front edge lifted upwards or else you will hit the sand hard and stop pretty quick. Well, your sandboard will.
Sandboarding vs Snowboarding
The international organization for sandboarding, ( Dune Rider International ) notes much of the growing interest is because of the easy crossover making the sport appealing to boarders of all types. If you are snowboarding, skating or surfing now you’ll have little trouble picking up sandboarding and sand is very easy on the body when you fall. It is considered the best way to learn snowboarding because of the controlled speeds and slower starts.
If you want to know how sandboarding compares with snowboarding, it is pretty similar. The main difference is that there is more inertia on the turns. But if you want to straightline, then there is plenty of speed to be had.
If you don’t have access to sand dunes, you can always try mountain boarding. This uses a board with four big tyres similar to offroad skateboarding.
Find out more about Sandboarding
If sandboarding grabs your attention, you can read lots more with Sandboard Magazine. You can also keep up to date at the Sand Master Park Facebook Page.
If you fancy having a go at sandboarding, get yourself to Sand Master Park in Florence, Oregon. If you want to find out more about sandboarding, visit Sand Master Park