Prone surfing is the discipline that has carried me from a hospital bed in 2022 to three world titles and counting. It's also one of the most-watched divisions on the para surfing tour. Here's the short version of what it is and why it matters.
Prone surfing is competitive surfing performed lying chest-down on the board. Athletes paddle with their arms, take off, ride and manoeuvre the wave without standing up, and are judged using essentially the same criteria as stand-up surfing: wave selection, manoeuvre difficulty, commitment, flow, and combination of elements.
It's the division most commonly used by surfers with lower-limb impairment — including spinal cord injury, amputation, and conditions like the spinal AVM I was diagnosed with — though the rules are based on functional capability rather than diagnosis.
Athletes paddle out, catch waves, and ride them entirely on their own. No in-water assistant, no push-in. This is the division I compete in. It rewards independence, paddle power, and wave-reading.
Athletes are assisted by a helper in the water who can position them and push them into waves. The riding itself is still done by the athlete unaided. This is for surfers whose impairment makes unassisted paddling impractical, but who can still ride and manoeuvre once on the wave.
Both divisions are judged on the same scoring criteria — they're just different starting points.
A typical heat is 20 minutes long with 4-6 surfers in the water. Each surfer's two best wave scores from the heat are added together. Judges are looking for committed turns, speed and flow, use of the wave's most critical sections, and progressive manoeuvres. Despite being prone, the better Prone 1 surfers are now landing aerial moves, pulling into barrels, and putting in vertical hits that wouldn't look out of place in a stand-up heat.
The myth that prone surfing is "less" than stand-up surfing is one of the things our generation is gleefully tearing down.
Most Prone 1 surfers ride a board between about 6'6" and 9' depending on their weight and the conditions. Boards are often slightly thicker than a standard shortboard for paddle power. Some athletes use modified handles or padding; many ride completely unmodified boards. Fins are not generally used — the absence of leg drive changes how the board needs to be set up.
The two main world tours are the AASP (Association of Adaptive Surfing Professionals) and the ISA (International Surfing Association) World Para Surfing Championships. The ISA event is the most direct pathway toward Paralympic recognition. Both run annually, with national qualifiers feeding into them.
Para surfing is in a golden generation right now. The Australian Prone 1 field — including myself, Joel Taylor and a strong national squad — is trading titles with the best from the United States, Brazil, France and Hawaii. The level rises every season. What was a podium-worthy ride three years ago is now a heat-saving wave, not a winning one.
The ISA streams its World Para Surfing Championships live every year, usually free to watch. The AASP tour broadcasts most stops as well. Follow the national team accounts (in Australia, look for the Irukandjis) and the major events and you'll quickly find your favourites.
If you're an adaptive surfer thinking about competition, the path usually starts with a Surfing Australia adaptive event or a Disabled Surfers Association community day. From there, club-level competition leads to state titles, nationals, and team selection for international events. There's no minimum standard to start the pathway — just the willingness to enter your first contest.
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