Level Up Your Wave Count: Intermediate Surfing Challenges to Try This Summer
Summer is the ultimate season for surfers to break out of the beginner rut and elevate their skills. Once you have mastered the basics of catching broken whitewater and riding straight toward the beach, the real magic of surfing begins. Moving into the intermediate realm means learning to read the ocean, fine-tuning your positioning, and engaging with the open face of unbroken green waves. This summer, instead of settling for the same old routine, challenge yourself with specific progression milestones that will transform your style and confidence in the lineup. Mastering the Art of Angled Takeoffs
The most crucial transition from beginner to intermediate surfing is changing the direction of your launch. Beginners typically paddle straight toward the shore, catching the wave as it breaks behind them. To ride the open face of a wave, you must learn the angled takeoff. This technique involves pointing your surfboard at a 45-degree angle toward the direction the wave is breaking (either left or right) just before you pop up. Doing so allows you to engage your rail immediately, keeping you high on the wave face and giving you the speed needed to outrun the breaking section. It requires split-second decision-making and a solid understanding of which way the wave is peeling, making it a perfect skill to refine during long summer sessions. Generating Your Own Speed
On small to medium summer waves, momentum can dissipate quickly. Beginners rely entirely on the wave’s natural push, but intermediate surfers know how to generate their own speed through pumping. Pumping is a rhythmic compression and extension of your body that moves the board up and down the wave face. By driving your weight through your feet to push the board up into the top third of the wave, and then unweighting as you glide back down, you harness gravity and friction to accelerate. Mastering this compression-decompression cycle prevents you from getting bogged down in slower sections and opens up the entire wave for longer, more dynamic rides. Perfecting the Frontside and Backside Bottom Turn
The bottom turn is widely considered the most important maneuver in surfing because it sets up everything that follows. It is the foundational turn executed at the flat bottom of the wave, converting the vertical speed of your drop into horizontal drive along the face. This summer, focus on the mechanics of both frontside and backside bottom turns. A great bottom turn requires you to look exactly where you want to go, compress your knees, and lean into the turn while keeping your center of gravity low over your board. Smoothly transitioning from your inside rail back up toward the lip transforms a chaotic drop into a controlled, elegant line. Stepping Down Your Board Size Mindfully
Many intermediate surfers make the mistake of jumping straight from a nine-foot soft-top to a tiny shortboard, resulting in frustration and a drastic drop in wave count. Summer is an excellent time to step down your board size, but do it mindfully. Transition from a classic longboard to a high-volume funboard, a hybrid fish, or a mid-length surfboard. These shapes offer the perfect compromise: they retain enough volume and paddle power to catch softer summer waves easily, yet their shorter length and refined rails allow for much tighter turns and better maneuverability on the open face. Developing Lineup Etiquette and Ocean Literacy
True intermediate surfing is not just about physical maneuvers; it is about cognitive growth and situational awareness in the water. As you venture further out into the main lineup where the waves actually break, understanding ocean mechanics and strict etiquette becomes essential. Practice identifying the “peak” of the wave—the highest point where it will break first—and learn to give the right-of-way to the surfer closest to that peak. Developing the ability to read shifting sandbars, anticipate set intervals, and navigate a crowded lineup with respect ensures you stay safe while earning the respect of local surfers.
Advancing your surfing skills requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone. By focusing on angled takeoffs, speed generation, precise bottom turns, and better ocean awareness, you can maximize every session this summer. Every hour spent analyzing the horizon and timing your pop-up brings you closer to that effortless flow state. Embrace the wiped-outs as learning opportunities, celebrate the clean lines, and enjoy the rewarding journey of becoming a truly independent, capable surfer before the autumn swells arrive.
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