Flowriding

Flowriding is a late 20th century alternative boardsport incorporating elements of surfing, bodyboarding, skateboarding, skimboarding, snowboarding and wakeboarding.

[1] Although the first artificial waves in a pool were developed back in the 19th century by King Ludwig of Bavaria, they required a completely different technology from that of flow riding.

[2] The activity of flow riding is closely associated with “FlowRider”, a technology created by Tom Lochtefeld, founder of Wave Loch that shoots more than 410,000 L (108,000 US gal) of water per second,[3] with a speed of 32 km/h to 48 km/h on a padded, inclined surface.

[6] In 1987, Lochtefeld was inspired to create this technology when he observed waters seemingly flowing up a wave in La Jolla.

[7] Along with this success, a new type of FlowRider, the “FlowBarrel” was unveiled at Summerland Resort, in Bø, Norway in 1993 and received instant popularity.

[2] In 1999, Lochtefeld secured a contract and investment from Swatch to create the first mobile FlowBarrel, built specifically for a promotional tour.

[2] 2006 marked the first time when a FlowRider was added on the deck of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Freedom of the Seas.

[12] The technology made by FlowRider, Inc. grants the ability to simulate different forms of ocean waves.

[13] Flowriders get their speed from the energy of the water flowing at them and can perform basic to sophisticated turns and tricks within a relatively small area.

[16] FLOW breaks up the world tour into sub-tours in the United States, Europe, Asia and Canada.

[17] FLOW hosts multiple tour stops in each of these regions in order to give competitors the opportunity to build up enough points to qualify for the World Flowboarding Championships (WFC).