Beginner Tips - How to Avoid Nosediving

Nosediving is undoubtedly one of the most frustrating, tiring and common mistakes made by beginner and longboard surfers. You’ve paddled out, waited for your perfect wave, and suddenly the weight and balance isn’t lining up, the nose of your board has dipped underwater and you’re abruptly launched above.

Why does this happen, and how to fix it? 

Nosedives typically occur in beginner surfers when your body weight is too far forward, causing the nose of the board to dive underwater.

A simple fix: reposition yourself on the board. As you’re paddling out to catch your wave, keep your back arched, chest up, and ensure that the nose is very slightly sticking out of the water.

Find a sweet spot when positioning your body weight on the board, as tiny adjustments can make a huge difference. Too far forward and you’re lining yourself up to nosedive, too far back and the tail of the board will dragging and slowing you down.

Resolve this by practising on smaller waves, gaining a familiarity with your board size, and being aware of your body positioning. Especially as a beginner, smaller waves should be sought after rather than steeper hollow waves. 

Mastered body positioning, and its still happening?

This would likely be down to your paddling and timing - you’ll need to catch the wave at the right moment just as it’s about to break, or after its already broken into white water. If you try to catch a wave when it’s too steep, it’ll overpower to you leading to a nosedive. Similarly, if you paddle too slowly, the wave will catch up to, overpowering you and your board.

As a golden rule - always match you paddling speed to the speed of the wave.

Additionally, always keep an eye on the wave. Wave knowledge is something you’ll gain with time and practise, however by keeping a constant eye on the wave you’ll soon pick up on little signals that can accommodate for a great wave. If you see that the wave appears to be too steep, you can also slightly angle your board in the direction the wave is breaking.

Your key points to avoid nosediving…

• Adjust your body weight backwards on the board
• Choose a wave that isn’t closing out
• If the wave is to steep, slightly angle the board
• Always match your paddle speed to the speed of wave
• Keep an eye on the wave (and those around you)
• Keep your back arched while having your chest, head and neck up
  
  Soon you’ll be catching waves smoothly and consistently! With practise comes knowledge and confidence, so hang in their take a scroll through our Surfing Education section for all the latest tips and techniques.  
   

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