Surfing Reverse

Definition: The reverse can be traced back to 1960’s longboarders who would spin around 180 degrees after taking off fins first. Tom Curren completed a wild, one-footed reverse on a meaty South African wave in the early ’90s. It was included in Rip Curl’s original The Search. But it was probably Kelly Slater’s signature video package Kelly Slater in Black and White that really popularized the move.

The reverse is made after a standard cutback or re-entry of the lip wherein the fins and tail are released; the surfboard slides around until moving forward, tail first. Once just a variation on standard surf moves, the reverse has become a performance standard, a requirement in the modern surf bag of tricks. More difficult reverses are done with the backfoot still firmly planted on the tail while more recent “cheater” reverses are done with the back foot moved up closer to the surfboard’s center, thus allowing more spin and slide from the tail.

Pronunciation: revers

Also Known As the tail slide

Examples: A decade ago, judges would have scored that reverse with a 10, but today, guys are pulling them on every wave.

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
WhatsApp