The Fox Fire Inn Gambling Blog

Catching the Wave to Betting Success

When people think of sports betting, the first thought that usually occurs is betting on globally popular sports such as football or horseracing. There is, however, a massive amount of different sports available that people can bet on, and which many would find more exciting and entertaining that the more average games of football or racing.

One of these sports is bodyboarding, and it by far one of the most enjoyable sports to watch. Bodyboarding involves a surfer using a bodyboard to ride large waves while moving toward the shore. Bodyboarding has become a competitive professional sport, which means that there is now a niche for people looking to make bets on the sport.

Bodyboarding Betting Scene

Like any popular and competitive sport, bodyboarding has its own betting industry at the best betting sites. During tournaments and competitions, bodyboarders will compete amongst each other, gaining score by performing different forms and stunts, which is then judged. This creates the opportunity for bettors to make wagers on different riders, and on the outcomes of the various international bodyboarding competitions. There are a number of online bookmakers that maintain an odds market for bettors specifically for bodyboarding.

History of Riding Waves

While many think of surfing as a more recent, modern type of sports, the real origins of the sport is much older. There are reports of sailors from hundreds of years ago discovering island of indigenous people riding waves with special boards.

Ancient peoples, such as indigenous Hawaiians and Polynesians were reported to have lain on their belly on boards and slowly ride the waves back to the beach. In 1971, a man by the name of Tom Morey used the ideas utilized by these indigenous people to create a whole new type of sport. He created the bodyboard from scratch, shaping it until it was perfect for riding the waves while lying flat. Morey began to sell the boards to other surfers, and the sport quickly spread like wildfire among the surfing communities. Today, bodyboarding is almost as popular as surfing, if not more so.

Bodyboard Riding Forms

Although every board is custom designed for the individual, meaning different boarding styles for different people, there are still three types of common forms that most bodyboarders used, especially when involved in competitions. The first of these is known as the prone. This is the most basic of the forms, and simply means the rider is lying on their stomach while surfing the waves.

Dropknee is another form, and is considered the most difficult to perform correctly. It involves the rider taking an almost kneeling position on the board while simultaneously riding a board. This is considered even harder to master than on a surfboard, as the smaller size of the bodyboard means there is a much higher chance of the rider falling off.

Finally, the stand-up is the third of the three most common forms. This simply involves standing up while riding a board, and while not quite as difficult as the other two, it still takes lots of skill and timing to perfect.