Understanding Line
The line you take on a wave says a lot about your surf level – Whether you’re a Level 1 taking off and surfing straight to the beach or a Level 5, exploring all parts of the wave and even above the lip and deeper in the barrel!
Level 1 – Beginner
Level 1 surfers take a straight line to the beach. You take off and ride on whitewater waves with soft-top surfboards.
Focus areas:
- Pop-up technique
- Paddling fundamentals
- Safety: Board control, wipeouts & rips
- Accelerating & braking
- Turning in whitewater
Level 2 – Low Intermediate
Level 2 surfers take a straight line sideways, along the face of unbroken waves. You are learning to take off and trim along green waves.
Focus areas:
- Paddling through broken waves techniques: Turtle roll & Push through
- Understanding channels & paddling zones
- Angled take-off
- Trimming
- Wave reading & positioning
- Surf etiquette
Level 3 – Intermediate
At level 3 surfers are beginning to learn speed pumping and understanding how to generate speed using rail engagement.
Focus areas:
- Speed pumping
- Basic bottom turn
- Cutback
- Reading forecasts & planning sessions
- Duck diving
Level 4 – High Intermediate
Level 4 surfers are developing advanced top and bottom turns, and surfing more vertical.
Focus areas:
- Advanced bottom turn
- Snap
- Floater
- Roundhouse cutback
- Confidence in bigger & hollower surf
- Advanced lineup tactics
- Advanced board design & experimenting with board-craft
Level 5 – Advanced
Level 5 surfers are exploring all parts of the wave, even taking a line above the lip when doing aerials and learning to navigate deeper in the barrel.
Focus areas:
- Re-entries, power carves, tail-slides
- Aerials
- Barrel-riding
- Top-to-bottom surfing
