For a long time, surfing was pretty simple. The objective was uncomplicated – stand up on a floating object and hold on as it slides down a wave. It was fun, and nothing else. But then, as with everything, it evolved. It became a sport, with professionals and judges and scores and a gigantic industry building up around it. But at its roots, it’s still just fun. There’s a separation between leisure surfing and sport surfing that is much more defined than in any other sport. And hell, some people think of competing as fun. You know that saying, “the best surfer in the world is the one having the most fun”? Well, Kelly Slater really loves competing. It’s fun to him. So maybe, world championship trophies aside, he actually is the best surfer in the world. Woah.
Part of surfing evolution is the introduction of science. Rip Curl’s new watch, for example – you’re now able to track every aspect of what you do on a wave, then compare it to everyone else. And when you think about it, the introduction of technology started a long time ago, when 976-SURF showed up on the map. They used technology to make surfing predictable, and in the process, lit the match for Surfline and a million other tech-wave companies.
The Red Bull Surf Science Project is taking technology’s role in surfing to a whole new level. By covering their athletes in contraptions that measure every beat of their hearts, every movement of their muscles, and every tiny variation in performance, they’re able to break down exactly what’s happening to a given surfer at a given time on a given wave. And then, of course, correct the problems. It’s breaking surfing down into tiny parts, fixing little tiny problems, then putting it back together again.
Red Bull’s Brandon Larson said it like this: “Technology is another tool that you can use in a series of things you do. The tribal knowledge, the experiential knowledge, the gut feelings, the collaboration between surfers and coaches will always come first. But having this data allows you to monitor progress, and correct any necessary changes.”
So they took Jake Marshall, Josh Moniz, and their coaches Chris Stone and Rainos Hayes to Mexico, piled equipment all over their bodies, and sent them out to surf. Here’s what they used, and what it did.
Trace. Tracking everything. All the time. Everywhere.
Surf Session Tracker, “Trace”
Trace is a nifty little device that records pretty much everything about any board sport. In a nutshell, the rider puts Trace onto whatever they’re riding, and it records nearly everything: speed, turning radius, underwear color, mother’s maiden name, and more. It’s basically a bar graph/pie chart/google analytics for your surfing. The only thing it doesn’t rate is fun. But who knows, maybe they’ll develop a number for that, too.
Big Brother, only not as creepy. Slightly less creepy, anyway.
Fully Autonomous Drone, “Air Dog”
This thing is crazy. It’s a drone, only there’s no pilot standing on the beach. Instead, it’s controlled by a sensor attached to the surfer. Jake Marshall paddled out with a sensor around his neck, and the drone dutifully followed his every move, recording each one of them for endless play back and self analyzation.
You’re probably screwing something up.
Motion-Capture Sensor, “Notch”
The point of the motion capture sensor was to break down paddling technique – one of the least thought of (and most important) surfing techniques. According to the little wrist watchers, both surfers had flaws in their paddling, and since the Notch was there to tell them that they were limp-wristing it, they fixed their problem right then and there.
If you’re not watching where you’re going, this thing will.
SMI Eye Tracking Glasses
This actually might be the coolest of the gadgets. By wearing the goggles, the surfers’ eye movements are tracked, capturing exactly what each of them were concentrating on. I’m guessing it was the wave, but maybe the most talented surfers in the world see things that average Joes don’t.
Booties, surfing’s coolest fashion statement.
Pressure Sensing Booties
There’s nothing cooler than booties when you’re surfing. Like the black socks and sandals of the surf world, booties have long been a benchmark for cool factor. All sarcasm aside, surfers’ feet are far more important than one would think – and these booties figured it out. Recording every tiny movement, the booties gave insight into how surfers can get more power and speed out of their leg-pedals. Again, this is breaking surfing down into incredibly minuscule parts.
Bond watch enters surfing.
Video Watch
The video watch enables the coach and the surfer to break down each and every wave. But instead of breaking it down that evening from a couch, they’re able to do it right after the wave. Then, on the next wave, the surfer is able to correct it immediately, instead of waiting for the next day, when they’ve completely forgotten what it was they were supposed to correct.
Whatever your take on how much or how little surfing should be dissected, the introduction of technologies like the ones above is pretty interesting. Breaking down such a simple act into an array of spectacularly complicated movements is, if nothing else, a reminder of just how incredible the human body is – much more incredible than anything we could ever create.
