Sports Then and Now

The sun is shining, the skies are blue, the kids are finally out of school – everyone loves the summertime! Whether its barbecuing, long evenings out on the town, camping, family vacations, or even just a solitary walk on the beach, there is something for everyone to look forward to. If you love to be near the water during the summer months, it is never too late to try out a new water sport – it could be scuba diving, water skiing, surfing, kayaking, or even good old-fashioned fishing. You never know what you might fall in love with until you give it a chance!

Water sports

Although there are some competitive, team-based water sports, the majority of recreational water sports do not fall into either of these categories. Swimming is probably the most popular choice for the casual athlete because it requires very little athletic ability to learn and is a family-friendly activity. Not only is learning to swim an essential life skill that could save your child’s life, swimming is one of the safest youth sports that is often chosen by mindful parents due to the very low risk of injuries to adolescent competitors, especially in comparison to other popular sports such as football, soccer, basketball, or gymnastics. Other water sports that are family-friendly include fishing and boating, which are also both safe and fun for everybody.

Surfing is the most popular it has ever been. In a small period of time it has transformed from a lifestyle to a sport to a sport with a massive audience. Although there are a few vehicles behind its growth, mostly it has to do with technology. Waterproof cameras can now capture stunning footage and portray a perspective otherwise never seen before in surfing. Drones can capture crisp, in-the-action aerial footage as easily as we can snap pictures on our iPhones. These technological advances have given surfing a fresh glamour in the visual medium –haven’t you ever seen a surfing video and thought, wow, I don’t even surf and that looks amazing. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that now the tech doesn’t only film those in the water, but assists them too. With the impressive, dynamic new sports tech coming out each year, companies are striving to do the same thing for surfing. They’re succeeding.

1. Smart-watches. Companies like Nixon have dropped new waterproof smart-watches that track data and location. We see these everywhere now, so it’s only right that they’re in the water too. The Rip Curl ‘Search GPS’ is an all-inclusive watch that allows you to track all your surf, speeds, and time in the water. It’s interactive with Rip Curl’s application, so later you can access your data and even send certain locations to your friends if you’ve scouted out that hidden gem of a surf spot. Casio dropped the GLX5600 – another impressive watch that features tide and moon graphs directly on the face. Meaning wearers will have a precise recording of tide and surf swell at all times. The goal here is to bring intuition, GPS, and livestreaming data to the water. With time, these watches will only age into smarter, more-capable machines.
2. Smartphin. This piece of water-tech is among one of the community’s favorites. It’s basically a complexly-engineered surfboard fin that acts as a research utility for scientists. Research of what? The water. It measures acidity, salinity, water temperature, and more –then transfers all that data right to your smartphone or tablet. Which will, hopefully, then stream to a vast pool of scientists in so that they can organize and process the data. Not only that, but the Smartphin will help predict the best surf and the surfer’s personal data (speed, time on the water, etc.). Read the rest of this entry →

Surfing is about to become one of the best experiences of your life if you’re thinking of taking it up as a sport. But before you get out in the water, be sure to follow these five common-sense tips for beginning surfers. With a little thought and practice ahead of time, you’ll have a much more enjoyable time out there. Below are a few tips and techniques to practice.

1. Don’t Go Out Alone

The ocean is a beautiful and powerful force of nature, but it can be a dangerous place for those who fail to respect it. Know your limits and expect the unexpected. Ask any surfer how many times she’s been hit by her board or tossed against the reef, and the answer will always be the same: too many to count. Play it safe and always go surfing with a buddy. That’s just common sense, and it just might save your life someday.

2. Start with a Long Board

The key to actually standing up on a surfboard is balance, and when you’re just learning to surf, you suck at keeping your balance. But that’s okay! Everyone has a hard time at first. You need a surfboard that will stay as stable as possible in the water, so that means you want a board with both good length and width. Short boards are sexy cool and look great on Instagram, but if you want to look good in the water, then you’ll need a larger board to help you learn the basics and get past the beginner stage.

Too heavy for you to carry solo? Thank goodness for Tip #1. Team lift that battleship into the water and see how good it feels to actually stand up the next time you go out. Read the rest of this entry →

Lani Doherty ripping a wave on her way to ninth place finish in the world.

World-class surfer Lani Doherty’s full name is Kaiulani, a Hawaiian name which translates to “Highest Place in Heaven.” One can only imagine that when the 16-year-old phenom from Maui finds herself ripping through the surf enveloped by a 20-foot wave, that is exactly where she believes herself to be.

But things haven’t always felt “heaven-sent” for the teenaged ripper from the Aloha State, who recently finished ninth in the world at the Quiksilver International Surfing Association (ISA) World Event in Ecuador.

Doherty had to overcome her fair share of adversity on her way to the crest of the wave, and currently finds herself among the world’s elite female athletes in the popular offshore sport. Read the rest of this entry →