Surfing-related sports, such as paddleboarding and sea kayaking, do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as kitesurfing and windsurfing rely on wind for power, yet all of these tools may as well be used to ride waves.
Two major classifications within the sport reflect differences in surfboard design and riding style: longboarding and shortboarding.
In tow-in surfing (often associated with big wave surfing), the surfer is towed into the wave by a motorized water vehicle, such as a jetski, because standard paddling is often ineffective when trying to match a large wave's higher speed.
