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Flowriding

January 01, 1970

"Flowboarding" redirects here. For the 14-wheel skateboard, see Flowboard.

Flowriding is a late 20th century alternative boardsport incorporating elements of surfing, bodyboarding, skateboarding, skimboarding, snowboarding and wakeboarding.[1]

A flow-boarder aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Freedom of the Seas
A body-boarder on a Flowrider

The FlowRider and the FlowBarrel are artificial waves that are called "sheet waves".[1] In order to create a sheet wave, water is pumped up and over a surface which is engineered to replicate the shape of an ocean wave.[1] The result is a stationary wave in which a rider can mimic the movements of other board sports, such as moving up and down the wave, carving, and jumping.[1] Since the wave does not move forward, the movement of the rider is derived from the water flowing over the stationary surface.[1]

Wave Loch created The Wave House, an entertainment venue based on their artificial wave technology.[2]

In the early 2000s, the Flowriding League Of The World (FLOW) tour was established which hosts a World Championship event each year.[3]

History edit

Although the first artificial waves in a pool were developed back in the 19th century by King Ludwig of Bavaria, they required a completely different technology from that of flow riding.[4] The activity of flow riding is closely associated with “FlowRider”, a technology created by Tom Lochtefeld, founder of Wave Loch that shoots more than 410,000 L (108,000 US gal) of water per second,[5] with a speed of 32 km/h to 48 km/h on a padded, inclined surface.[6] At full capacity, 410,000 L (108,000 US gal) of water per minute can amount to waves as high as 1.8 m (6 ft).[7] With this technology, flow riders, those who lie, kneel or stand on a board, attempt to balance on these artificial waves, called sheet waves, and more professional riders seek to perform tricks.[8]

In 1987, Lochtefeld was inspired to create this technology when he observed waters seemingly flowing up a wave in La Jolla.[9] It seemed that the wave was traveling backward.[9] A second inspiration came to him when he saw surfers ride shallow waves without touching the ocean floor.[9] The upward motion of water through a shallow wave then became the essence of the Flowrider, shooting a thin sheet of water up a curved surface.[9] To perfect this design, Lochtefeld hired Carl Ekstrom, known for his surfboard designs, to create the perfect, easy-to-ride, continuous waves.[9] After multiple trials on miniature FlowRiders, in the 1980s, Lochtefeld started testing a FlowRider prototype at Raging Waters water parks.[9] In 1991, the first FlowRider machine was successfully installed at The Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas.[9] Along with this success, a new type of FlowRider, the “FlowBarrel” was unveiled at Summerland Resort, in Bø, Norway in 1993 and received instant popularity.[4]

In 1999, Lochtefeld secured a contract and investment from Swatch to create the first mobile FlowBarrel, built specifically for a promotional tour.[7] The first event took place in Munich, Germany where Bill Bryan took home the prize as the champion.[10] By 2000, 25 FlowRiders were available around the world, in countries such as Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Germany.[7]

In 2001, the first Wave House venue was established in Durban, South Africa and became the prototype for other venues in the future.[4] 2006 marked the first time when a FlowRider was added on the deck of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Freedom of the Seas.[11] From then on, every Royal Caribbean’s ships are situated with FlowRiders on their sports deck.[11] In 2015, there were in total more than 200 FlowRiders available in 35 countries.[12]

Wave Design edit

 
A flowrider performing a trick

There are seven different types of sheet waves that can be used for flowriding[13] however the two main wave structures which are recognized at a competitive level are the FlowRider Single and Double and the FlowBarrel.[14]

The technology made by FlowRider, Inc. grants the ability to simulate different forms of ocean waves.[15] This company is the only one that produced a device that is currently[when?] available in the market.[15] At first, the devices were able to provide the simulation of breaking waves.[15] A breaking wave is a wave whose amplitude reached a point where the wave energy is transformed into powerful kinetic energy.

The breaking wave simulation attracts bodyboarders and surfers.[15] Generally, the surfers move in a downward direction as the wave moves forward or they can move relative to the wave and execute certain movements.[15] Flowriders get their speed from the energy of the water flowing at them and can perform basic to sophisticated turns and tricks within a relatively small area.[16] The curved surface of the FlowRider machine matches the actual curvature of a wave, and the curvature changes throughout the surface in order to provide a more realistic wave.[15] The water is then pumped from the bottom up along the curved surface.[6] These pumps project a layer of water at speeds ranging from 32 to 48 km/h (9 to 13 m/s).[6] The biggest difference between the machine and an actual ocean wave, is that the flow rate of the water being pushed along the surface of the FlowRider is much larger than an actual wave.[15] Finally, a vacuum helps keep the riders from skipping dangerously along the surface of the water.[15]

Board Design edit

The sport has two different types of boards that a rider can choose to ride on.[1] These are the flowboard and the bodyboard.[1]

Flowboard edit

The flowboard is also known as the 'stand-up board' in flowriding.[17] Boards differ in shape, materials, lengths and the angle at which the board curves. Generally, they take a similar appearance to that of a wakeboard and can be further categorized into strapped and strapless boards. Boards with foot straps are generally used only on the FlowBarrel, but strapless boards are used on both the FlowRider and FlowBarrel. Flowboards range in length from 90 to 110 cm (35 to 43 in), and in width from 28 to 35 cm (11 to 14 in). They weigh between 1.4 to 2.8 kg (3 to 6 lb).[citation needed]

Bodyboard edit

Bodyboarders ride standard bodyboards in the prone, kneeling, or drop-knee position. Each position forms the basis for its own set of tricks. In most competitions, bodyboarders are required to do tricks in both prone and kneeling positions.

Flowriding League Of the World (FLOW) edit

The Flowriding League of the World (FLOW) which was established in the early 2000s is the main competitive league for flowriders.[3] FLOW breaks up the world tour into sub-tours in the United States, Europe, Asia and Canada.[18] FLOW hosts multiple tour stops in each of these regions in order to give competitors the opportunity to build up enough points to qualify for the World Flowboarding Championships (WFC).[18]

World Flowboarding Championships (WFC) edit

Each year FLOW hosts the WFC at a different Wave House around the world.[14] It was held in Utah in 2012 and Singapore in 2016.[19] Within the WFC there are two events: one on the FlowRider wave and one on the FlowBarrel wave.[14] Each Wave House is responsible for finding two men's Flowboarders, one female Flowboarder, and one Bodyboarder to represent their region.[14]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "FlowRider" (PDF). FlowRider.
  2. ^ Paulsen, Leonard. "Wavehouse | Powered by WaveLoch & SurfLoch - surf pools, wave pools & surfing attractions". Wave House. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  3. ^ a b . FlowBoarders | The best of Flowboarding 24/7. Archived from the original on 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  4. ^ a b c "Timeline". Wave Loch LLC. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  5. ^ Pumps, World (2015-12-14). "Making waves of the right order". World Pumps. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  6. ^ a b c . Men's Health Singapore. 2010-10-06. Archived from the original on 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  7. ^ a b c Warshaw, Matt (2005). The Encyclopedia of Surfing. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780156032513.
  8. ^ "Making Waves, and Riding Them". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2007-08-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Cohen, Jon (1999-08-01). "Making Waves". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  10. ^ "The Mexican". SURFER Magazine. 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  11. ^ a b . www.flowrider.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  12. ^ "History". Wave Loch LLC. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  13. ^ . www.flowrider.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-29. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  14. ^ a b c d "Flow Championships". Wave Loch LLC. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h US 6726403, Kriticos, Stephen Con, "Device and method for forming waves", published 2004-04-27 
  16. ^ "Flowboarding: Riding the waves". ActiveSG. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  17. ^ Damon, Poppy. "Feeling the Flow – Adam Wildman, Flowrider". Australian Times. Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  18. ^ a b "FLOW Tour". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  19. ^ . www.flowboarders.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2019-11-08.

External links edit

  • Wave House website
  • Wave Loch website
  • Flowboarders website
  • Flowrider, Inc. website

January 01, 1970
flowriding, flowboarding, redirects, here, wheel, skateboard, flowboard, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, relies, excessively, references,. Flowboarding redirects here For the 14 wheel skateboard see Flowboard This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Flowriding news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2008 Learn how and when to remove this message This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view November 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Flowriding is a late 20th century alternative boardsport incorporating elements of surfing bodyboarding skateboarding skimboarding snowboarding and wakeboarding 1 A flow boarder aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Freedom of the Seas A body boarder on a Flowrider The FlowRider and the FlowBarrel are artificial waves that are called sheet waves 1 In order to create a sheet wave water is pumped up and over a surface which is engineered to replicate the shape of an ocean wave 1 The result is a stationary wave in which a rider can mimic the movements of other board sports such as moving up and down the wave carving and jumping 1 Since the wave does not move forward the movement of the rider is derived from the water flowing over the stationary surface 1 Wave Loch created The Wave House an entertainment venue based on their artificial wave technology 2 In the early 2000s the Flowriding League Of The World FLOW tour was established which hosts a World Championship event each year 3 Contents 1 History 2 Wave Design 3 Board Design 3 1 Flowboard 3 2 Bodyboard 4 Flowriding League Of the World FLOW 4 1 World Flowboarding Championships WFC 5 References 6 External linksHistory editAlthough the first artificial waves in a pool were developed back in the 19th century by King Ludwig of Bavaria they required a completely different technology from that of flow riding 4 The activity of flow riding is closely associated with FlowRider a technology created by Tom Lochtefeld founder of Wave Loch that shoots more than 410 000 L 108 000 US gal of water per second 5 with a speed of 32 km h to 48 km h on a padded inclined surface 6 At full capacity 410 000 L 108 000 US gal of water per minute can amount to waves as high as 1 8 m 6 ft 7 With this technology flow riders those who lie kneel or stand on a board attempt to balance on these artificial waves called sheet waves and more professional riders seek to perform tricks 8 In 1987 Lochtefeld was inspired to create this technology when he observed waters seemingly flowing up a wave in La Jolla 9 It seemed that the wave was traveling backward 9 A second inspiration came to him when he saw surfers ride shallow waves without touching the ocean floor 9 The upward motion of water through a shallow wave then became the essence of the Flowrider shooting a thin sheet of water up a curved surface 9 To perfect this design Lochtefeld hired Carl Ekstrom known for his surfboard designs to create the perfect easy to ride continuous waves 9 After multiple trials on miniature FlowRiders in the 1980s Lochtefeld started testing a FlowRider prototype at Raging Waters water parks 9 In 1991 the first FlowRider machine was successfully installed at The Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels Texas 9 Along with this success a new type of FlowRider the FlowBarrel was unveiled at Summerland Resort in Bo Norway in 1993 and received instant popularity 4 In 1999 Lochtefeld secured a contract and investment from Swatch to create the first mobile FlowBarrel built specifically for a promotional tour 7 The first event took place in Munich Germany where Bill Bryan took home the prize as the champion 10 By 2000 25 FlowRiders were available around the world in countries such as Mexico Japan South Korea and Germany 7 In 2001 the first Wave House venue was established in Durban South Africa and became the prototype for other venues in the future 4 2006 marked the first time when a FlowRider was added on the deck of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Freedom of the Seas 11 From then on every Royal Caribbean s ships are situated with FlowRiders on their sports deck 11 In 2015 there were in total more than 200 FlowRiders available in 35 countries 12 Wave Design edit nbsp A flowrider performing a trick There are seven different types of sheet waves that can be used for flowriding 13 however the two main wave structures which are recognized at a competitive level are the FlowRider Single and Double and the FlowBarrel 14 The technology made by FlowRider Inc grants the ability to simulate different forms of ocean waves 15 This company is the only one that produced a device that is currently when available in the market 15 At first the devices were able to provide the simulation of breaking waves 15 A breaking wave is a wave whose amplitude reached a point where the wave energy is transformed into powerful kinetic energy The breaking wave simulation attracts bodyboarders and surfers 15 Generally the surfers move in a downward direction as the wave moves forward or they can move relative to the wave and execute certain movements 15 Flowriders get their speed from the energy of the water flowing at them and can perform basic to sophisticated turns and tricks within a relatively small area 16 The curved surface of the FlowRider machine matches the actual curvature of a wave and the curvature changes throughout the surface in order to provide a more realistic wave 15 The water is then pumped from the bottom up along the curved surface 6 These pumps project a layer of water at speeds ranging from 32 to 48 km h 9 to 13 m s 6 The biggest difference between the machine and an actual ocean wave is that the flow rate of the water being pushed along the surface of the FlowRider is much larger than an actual wave 15 Finally a vacuum helps keep the riders from skipping dangerously along the surface of the water 15 Board Design editThe sport has two different types of boards that a rider can choose to ride on 1 These are the flowboard and the bodyboard 1 Flowboard edit The flowboard is also known as the stand up board in flowriding 17 Boards differ in shape materials lengths and the angle at which the board curves Generally they take a similar appearance to that of a wakeboard and can be further categorized into strapped and strapless boards Boards with foot straps are generally used only on the FlowBarrel but strapless boards are used on both the FlowRider and FlowBarrel Flowboards range in length from 90 to 110 cm 35 to 43 in and in width from 28 to 35 cm 11 to 14 in They weigh between 1 4 to 2 8 kg 3 to 6 lb citation needed Bodyboard edit Bodyboarders ride standard bodyboards in the prone kneeling or drop knee position Each position forms the basis for its own set of tricks In most competitions bodyboarders are required to do tricks in both prone and kneeling positions Flowriding League Of the World FLOW editThe Flowriding League of the World FLOW which was established in the early 2000s is the main competitive league for flowriders 3 FLOW breaks up the world tour into sub tours in the United States Europe Asia and Canada 18 FLOW hosts multiple tour stops in each of these regions in order to give competitors the opportunity to build up enough points to qualify for the World Flowboarding Championships WFC 18 World Flowboarding Championships WFC edit Each year FLOW hosts the WFC at a different Wave House around the world 14 It was held in Utah in 2012 and Singapore in 2016 19 Within the WFC there are two events one on the FlowRider wave and one on the FlowBarrel wave 14 Each Wave House is responsible for finding two men s Flowboarders one female Flowboarder and one Bodyboarder to represent their region 14 References edit a b c d e f g FlowRider PDF FlowRider Paulsen Leonard Wavehouse Powered by WaveLoch amp SurfLoch surf pools wave pools amp surfing attractions Wave House Retrieved 2019 11 08 a b About FlowBoarders The best of Flowboarding 24 7 FlowBoarders The best of Flowboarding 24 7 Archived from the original on 2019 10 29 Retrieved 2019 11 08 a b c Timeline Wave Loch LLC Retrieved 2019 11 08 Pumps World 2015 12 14 Making waves of the right order World Pumps Retrieved 2024 04 25 a b c An Introduction To Flowriding Men s Health Singapore 2010 10 06 Archived from the original on 2017 12 16 Retrieved 2019 11 08 a b c Warshaw Matt 2005 The Encyclopedia of Surfing Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN 9780156032513 Making Waves and Riding Them The New York Times Associated Press 2007 08 12 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2019 11 08 a b c d e f g Cohen Jon 1999 08 01 Making Waves Wired ISSN 1059 1028 Retrieved 2019 11 08 The Mexican SURFER Magazine 2007 10 08 Retrieved 2019 11 08 a b Our Company www flowrider com Archived from the original on 2019 10 29 Retrieved 2019 11 08 History Wave Loch LLC Retrieved 2019 11 08 All Products www flowrider com Archived from the original on 2019 10 29 Retrieved 2019 11 08 a b c d Flow Championships Wave Loch LLC Retrieved 2019 11 08 a b c d e f g h US 6726403 Kriticos Stephen Con Device and method for forming waves published 2004 04 27 Flowboarding Riding the waves ActiveSG Retrieved 2019 11 08 Damon Poppy Feeling the Flow Adam Wildman Flowrider Australian Times Blue Sky Publications Ltd Retrieved 6 March 2014 a b FLOW Tour www facebook com Retrieved 2019 11 08 WFC www flowboarders com Archived from the original on 2019 10 30 Retrieved 2019 11 08 External links editWave House website Wave Loch website Flowboarders website Flowrider Inc website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Flowriding amp oldid 1220876985, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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