iafrica.com's Head of Sport Rob Peters tries his hand at sandboarding and discovers a sport ready to break free from its underground roots and into the mainstream. Read all about it and watch the video HERE!

"Are you natural or are you goofy?"

Perhaps seeing the confusion on my face, Rob clarifies it for me: "Do you lead with your right or left foot?"

Seeing as this is my first time on a sandboard, I honestly do not know? What I can tell you is that my balance is similar to that of a new-born, so chances are I am going to fall over regardless of my leading foot.

I ponder the question for a couple of minutes, and realise that the dune looks a lot steeper, from the top. Perhaps this wasn't my best idea? There is only one way to find out, however, and once I have been strapped into the board footings, I am on my way. I manage to stumble my way down a couple of metres before finding my 'rhythm' ? and then promptly fall flat on my face ? unsurprisingly I am 'goofy', meaning I lead with the right foot.

Rob Baird and Jaco van Schalkwyk, local Cape Town sandboarding enthusiasts, invited me out to the Hout Bay dunes to discover for myself what all the fuss was about. Still regarded as an underground sport in South Africa, Rob and his fellow riders are working overtime to get sandboarding more recognition by taking it into the mainstream.

To do that they formed a committee, primarily to get a competitive format up and running again ? contests have been dormant since 2005 ? starting with a national competition in November this year in Cape Town.

The regionals were held last year for the first time since 2005 and boasted a big turnout, while Rob is also confident that more sponsors will be coming on board ? no pun intended ? in the near future.

Competitions are generally made up of three events ? Slalom, Drag and the crowd-pleasing Big Air ? and of course there?s also the inevitable ?Wipe-out of the day?.

  • Slalom: Weaving between flags to achieve the best time
  • Drag: Riders race against one another to the line, usually four in a heat, winners advancing to the semifinals and then the final
  • Big Air: The aim here is to hit the ramp as hard as you can and pull off the 'sickest tricks'. Riders are judged on style, landing and distance.

    So, exactly how big is the sport in South Africa? It is clear that it calls on the same market as surfing, which can only help the sport, but being something of an underground sport (largely seen as a pastime by many) Rob and his colleagues are working overtime to shatter these misconceptions.

    "It's always been thought of as an underground sport," admits Rob.

    "But it is picking up quickly. We had a fantastic turnout at the competition (Regionals at Betty's Bay) last year and expect an ever bigger turnout this year.

    "I am trying to promote the sport as much as possible as South Africa has so much to offer in term of locations, weather and great boarders. Having big sponsors on board would definitely benefit the sport and enable us to compete on the international stage.

    "The sport is fairly big overseas with South America, USA, Germany, Namibia, and Australia usually competing in the World Championships ? the sport is really big in these countries.

    "When the internet was launched sandboarding communities started popping up all over the place as no-one had any idea of who else was boarding."

    Rob and Jaco have been involved in the sport for over two years now, but admit that "lack of sponsors and companies exploiting the sport by charging crazy fees to take people boarding" have been detrimental to the growth of sandboarding in SA. Rob believes that high fees are scaring a lot of people away from the sport.

    In reality, however, it is not all that expensive a sport to take part in. Once you have the board ? from around R1 200 - R2500 ? the only cost is the wax for the board, while in some areas, such as Atlantis, riders will need a permit.

    And it is also environmentally friendly. The only thing left behind after a day of boarding are the footprints in the sand? and sometimes a little bit of blood.

    Yes, as in any sport, sandboarding can result in injuries. Rob was knocked unconscious and dislocated his shoulder last year, Jaco has sprained his ankle more than once ? and picked up tissue damage while demonstrating some aerial moves for us in Hout Bay ? while broken collar bones and sprained backs are also par for the course.

    But really, where's the fun without a little bit of risk?

    Hout Bay, of course, is perfect for beginners, and while I am not about to launch off any ramps ? built for the occasion by Rob and Jaco ? I am ready for more.

    Spitting sand out, I race back up the dunes ready to give it another bash. It doesn't take long to get hooked on this sport. It may be considered niche in South Africa at the moment, but with a bit of airtime, sandboarding will be carving it up in the mainstream in no time.

  • For more information on sandboarding in South Africa you can contact Rob Baird at rob.baird@yahoo.co.uk or visit www.sidewinderboards.com