When to Pop Up on a Surfboard

Brad Blaicher splits his time between leading OnSite Temp Housing as COO and co-founder and ConstructionReports.com as general manager and co-founder. When he isn’t busy running these two Arizona-based businesses, he enjoys staying active outdoors. Brad Blaicher is particularly fond of such activities as surfing.

In surfing, a key movement is the pop up, yet many beginning surfers struggle with this action. Knowing how to pop up on a surfboard (a move that involves placing both hands next to the ribs and pushing up against the board) is only part of the problem surfers face when popping up.

The other part of the problem is determining the right timing for the movement. Surfers who pop up too soon may see the noses of their boards dip, and will fall off the back of the wave instead of catching it. Meanwhile, those who pop up too late may pearl, which is when the nose of the board submarines underwater when the surfer reaches the critical point of the wave without enough speed.

To prevent either of these situations, surfers must pop up at the right time when the wave is beginning to lift and push them toward the shore. This is often signified by the nose of the surfboard dipping down the wave face, indicating that surfers have matched the pace of the wave and their body weight is being pulled downward by gravity.

If surfers are uncertain when the nose is pointing down enough, they can focus on how the board feels. When it’s time for them to pop up, the board will feel weightless.