Kneeboard
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A kneeboard is a surfboard ridden in a kneeling stance. Kneeboards are ridden in ocean surf, or while being towed behind a boat on a lake or river.
Kneeboard surfers generally wear swim fins and catch the wave by paddling and kicking. Advantages to kneeboarding include an extremely low center of gravity, less wind resistance, the ability to ride higher and farther back in the tube, and taking off on a steeper part of the wave.
Towed kneeboarding is an offshoot of kneeboard surfing; kneeboard athletes compete in slalom, tricks, and expression session events.Towed kneeboards have a padded deck contoured to the shape of the shins and knees and a strap holds the rider to the board. Towed kneeboarding declined in popularity with the advent of wakeboarding and other modern watersports; however, it still enjoys popularity among water skiers and newer models of the kneeboard are still in production. HO is currently a leader in kneeboard design with popular twin-tip models like the "Mako" and "Joker". A kneeboard is a good piece of equipment to start out on for boat-towed sports—the low center of gravity often makes it easier to get up on than a waterski or wakeboard, which both require standing up.
Surf kneeboard innovators include George Greenough, USA/Aus.; Steve Lis, USA; Chris Crozier along with Peter Crawford, Aus.; Steve Artis, Aus.; Dean Cleary, USA, Peter Ware and John Ware, Aus.; Neil Luke, Aus.; David Parkes Steen Barnes, Aus.; Dale Ponsford, Aus.; Wayne Hutch, Aus.; Alan "Bud" McCray, USA; Richard Pavel, USA; Ron Romanosky, USA; Richard Gomez, USA; Albert Whiteman, Aus.; and more recently, Chris "Bro" Diploc, UK; Eric Schoelkopf, USA;, Stewart Eriwin, Aus.; Rob Slater, Aus.; and Bruce Hart, Aus..
