Jump to it!

Everyone knows that the distance you jump is dependent on how fast you are going at the board and how much height you can get off the board.

Obviously, the faster you can run, the greater your speed on the runway. The only difficulty is that the faster you are running, the more difficult it becomes to control your position and technique. To improve your control on the runway requires plenty of practice to develop rhythm and improve your stability.

The easiest way to get height off the board is to stick your foot out at the board. If you stick your foot out and prop, this will cause a big drop off in your speed. This drop off in speed will negatively influence the distance you jump and it can also cause numerous injuries. Therefore it is important not to prop at the board to minimise how much speed you lose and how many injuries you sustain.

At the end of your run-up, there are two very important technical components to limit your drop-off in speed and minimise the risk of injuring yourself at take-off.

Number one – have an active second-last (penultimate) stride. By the time your foot touches down on the second-last stride, your take-off knee should be in-line with, if not in front of, the penultimate knee. This allows you to set up for take off.

Number two – make sure your body keeps up with your feet. At the time you hit the board, it is important that your body is fairly upright and only just behind your foot. The further your body is behind your take-off foot, the greater the “breaking� force hence the more you will slow down and the more you are likely to injure yourself.

These are two of the most difficult technical aspects to execute at speed and require plenty of practice, patience and perseverance. Good luck!

Image courtesy of Jen Manning, QAS