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FIXME VERBIAGE!
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Do not include gaps in the years that you have surfed. This helps us understand your ability.
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This helps us understand your ability and fitness. People who surf
often have generally developed the right muscles to be agile in the
water. It is not necessary that you surf often, but we want to make
sure that we are matching you with surfers of the same fitness.
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Gender is related to your center of mass and style of surfing.
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The larger your foot is, the more leverage you have to turn your board.
You may have noticed that when you turn on a wider board, you dig your
toes into the board. This is because your foot has to be pushing down
where the water is pushing up. In the picture below, the surfer is on
rail so that all of his weight is on his toes. You can see that the
downward force of his foot is not aligned with the upward force of the
water. This means that this surfer is going to fall. To maintain
balance, his toes need to be directly above the force of the water
(called moment equilibrium). A surfer with a larger foot would not have
a problem, but someone with a smaller foot would constantly have to
adjust their foot position in order to keep it above the center of
buoyant force. This means that people with larger feet can go with
wider boards without losing performance.
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The larger your foot is, the more leverage you have to turn your board.
You may have noticed that when you turn on a wider board, you dig your
toes into the board. This is because your foot has to be pushing down
where the water is pushing up. In the picture below, the surfer is on
rail so that all of his weight is on his toes. You can see that the
downward force of his foot is not aligned with the upward force of the
water. This means that this surfer is going to fall. To maintain
balance, his toes need to be directly above the force of the water
(called moment equilibrium). A surfer with a larger foot would not have
a problem, but someone with a smaller foot would constantly have to
adjust their foot position in order to keep it above the center of
buoyant force. This means that people with larger feet can go with
wider boards without losing performance.
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Age is another indicator of surfing style, ability, and fitness. Of course
this is only a small piece of the puzzle, but it still helps us find
people that are similar to you so that we can match you with the right
board.
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Height, combined with weight, body type, and gender, determines where your
center of mass is located. Men typically have larger upper bodies, so
their center of mass of is higher up. Women typically have more weight
on their hips and legs so their center of mass is lower. A lower center
of mass means that you can make tighter turns and change directions
faster. While some surfers naturally have a lower center of mass,
everybody instinctually knows how to lower their center of mass by
squatting down when they want to make a tight turn. To illustrate this
effect, take your mouse and hold the cord about 2 feet above the
clicker like a pendulum (if you have a cordless mouse, find something
that is similar to a pendulum). Rock the pendulum and observe how long
it takes to change directions (i.e. make a turn). Then hold the cord a
few inches above the clicker and notice that the pendulum changes
directions much faster. As the center of mass is farther from the pivot
point, the turns become slower and longer. Your body is kind of like an
upside down pendulum.
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Weight is most important for determining the required buoyancy (planning area
and volume) of the board. Weight also tells us about your center of mass and fitness.
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We will not share your email address with anyone, period. Your email helps us eliminate some of the fake surveys.
We do not want people or computer robots entering in lots of bad information.
When you click submit, you will have to go to your email account and click on
a url to ensure that you are an authentic person.
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