Paddleboarding is a type of paddle sport. A person sits upon a board in a prone or kneeling position and propels themselves through the water using their hands. A variation of paddleboarding is stand-up paddleboarding, where the person stands on the board and uses a paddle to move.
Paddleboards are divided by length into three classes: Stock (12 foot), 14 Foot, and Unlimited. The unlimited size usually refers to longer boards, which are faster but be difficult to handle in choppy water
Paddleboarding is usually performed in the open ocean, with the participant paddling over long distances to cross between islands or journey from one coastal area to another. It is one of the disciplines of ironman surflifesaving.
One of the most famous paddleboard races is the Molokai-2-Oahu Paddleboard World Championships, a race across the across the Ka'iwi Channel in Hawaii.
Related Sports
- Standup Paddleboarding — a person stands on a board and uses a paddle to propel themselves through the water.
- Bodyboarding — a water sport in which the surfer stands or lays on a short board in the surf.
- Surfing — participants stand on a surfboard, and use the waves for propulsion.
- Surf Polo — water polo played in the water at the beach while riding surfboards.
- Ironman Surf lifesaving — combines four major aspects of surflifesaving into a single race.
Related Pages
- About Paddle Sports
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports