Last Updated on August 18, 2023

Sandboarding as we know it gained popularity in the early 2000s and is today widely practiced in many locations worldwide, but the origins of this sport may date back thousands of years.

It is unclear exactly who first invented sandboarding, with some claiming that people in Ancient Egypt would use clay or wooden planks to slide down sand dunes for fun, others tracking the origins of this sport back to the year 800 AD circa when ancient rituals in China involved the use of wood, leather and terracotta boards to slide down the dunes.

But it’s only in the past 30 years or so that modern sandboarding was popularized as a sport, finding its fame on the dunes of South America and quickly spreading on deserts and beaches worldwide.

Sandboarding History - Egyptians skiing on sand in 1939s
Sand Skiing in Egypt 1939. Unknown author.

The History of Sandboarding

Was sand surfing a thing in Ancient Egypt?

Ancient Egyptians loved sports and there are many hieroglyphics depicting people running, swimming, and playing ball sports. Some claim that there is evidence of an activity that consisted in gliding down sand dunes using a board-like device, but it is impossible to tell for sure whether sandboarding originated then.

Dr. Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University of Cairo, claims that “There is absolutely no evidence that the ancient Egyptians sand boarded—there are no images in tombs or references to such activities in texts“.

That said, it’s not hard to imagine that there would be at least some attempts at riding sand dunes by ancient Egyptians, especially since it has been strongly suggested that they would use wet sand to transport stones for building pyramids.

If Egyptians knew how to make sand slippery enough for rocks to slide on it and build the pyramids, it is not farfetched to believe they’d do the same as a means of transport for humans… sliding from one dune to the other.

Origins of modern sandboarding

Photo: Norbert Schiller Collection / ACME News Photo

A more modern version of sandboarding is believed to have born in the mid 20th century in Brazil, where impatient surfers would grab their surfboards and attempt to slide on sand whenever the weather was not windy enough to ride actual waves in the sea.

The birthplace of sandboarding is the city of Florianópolis in Brazil. In the beginning, practitioners may have used pieces of broken boards, wood and even cardboard to descend the dunes. 

Nowadays, sandboarding boards look a lot more like snowboards, and the construction materials used include a combination of hardwood ply and laminate plastic.

In the 60s, sand surfing first set foot in the United States. The first major developments in sandboarding came around the same time that snowboarding was taking off in the 1970s, but it’s since been overshadowed by other action sports. At around that time two friends, Gary Fluitt and Jack Smith, decided to start experimenting with special boards for sliding on sand.

It’s not until the 1990s that sandboarding started gaining recognition thanks of the effort of a growing community of sand sports enthusiasts: in the year 2000, Sand Master Park the first and only sport facility dedicated to sandboarding – was launched in Florence, Oregon.

Meanwhile, the town of Hirschau in Germany started hosting an annual Sandboarding World Championship in what is the only sand hill with a lift, on Monte Kaolino in Bavaria. This ran until 2007.

The event was succeeded by the Sandboard World Cup which now takes places every two years in Ica, Peru – currently one of the most popular sandboarding destinations in the world.

Sandboarding clubs were established in the US, South America and Europe in the first decade of the 2000s, whereas the sport is currently gaining traction in Africa (Namibia, Egypt, South Africa), Asia (United Arab Emirates, Israel, Japan), Australia and New Zealand.

The “spin-off” sport of volcano boarding, that is, sandboarding on slopes of hardened lava on active volcanos, has also become a popular niche activity in Nicaragua, Vanuatu, and Indonesia.

The Future of Sandboarding

Sandboarding is here to stay. The technology to ride on sand has been improving over the years and the number of locations worldwide where you can practice this sport is increasing, and we can unfortunately expect it to keep increasing due to desertification and global warming.

Snow is melting and glaciers all over the world are shrinking, causing snowboarders to give the dunes a chance the same way surfers did back in the 70s when they couldn’t find waves available.

Sandboarding enthusiasts are also making an active effort to promote this relatively new sport and nowadays you can rent a sandboard or sand dunes on most national parks and beach resorts where sandboarding is practiced.

Nobody knows what sand surfing will look like years from now, but it’s exciting to think about how this extreme sport has evolved and spread over the past decades, perhaps even centuries.


Origins of Sandboarding FAQs

When was sandboarding invented?

Modern sandboarding was born in the mid-20th century in Florianópolis, Brazil. From there, it spread across Latin America and reached the United States in the 1960s, soon reaching moderate popularity across locations worldwide where there is access to sand dunes.

Activities similar to sandboarding were historically practiced in China, Hawaii, and potentially Ancient Egypt, but historians do not agree that the sport of sliding down sand dunes was commonly practiced back at that time.

How long has sand surfing been a sport?

Sandboarding has only been popularized as a sport in the 90s, initially in Peru and eventually also in the United States. The sport is still considered a niche recreational activity but becoming increasingly widespread across different locations.

In recent years, sand surfing has become more organized and has gained more recognition as a competitive sport, with professional sandboarders competing in events and demonstrations around the world.

Where did sandboarding originate?

Contrary to popular belief, there is little evidence that sandboarding dates back to Ancient Egypt. Most likely, the origins of sandboarding can be traced back to 800 AD China where an ancient ritual was practiced which involved sliding down sand dunes using a terracotta board.

It was however not until the 1960s that sandboarding has become a recognized recreational activity, initially practiced by surfers on the shores of Joaquina Beach in Florianópolis, Brazil.

Who invented sandboarding?

There is no official inventor of sandboarding. The sport was first practiced by surfers in Florianópolis who used their surfboards to sled down dunes when waves where not available. Later on, in the 70s, Gary Fluitt and Jack Smith started popularizing the use of special boards to sled specifically on sand.

As sandboarding gained recognition and popularity, other individuals across the globe also made significant contributions to the sport’s development. Matías Grados Mora in Peru, Lon Beale in Oregon, and Darryn Webb in Nicaragua are among those who played a role in popularizing sandboarding in their respective regions.

When was sand skiing invented?

The earliest record of sand skiing dates back to 1927 by Marie Marvingt on the dunes of Algeria in the Sahara desert. Within a few years the activity was practiced in both Africa and the United States, specifically on the coastal dunes of Cape Cod. Currently the sport is increasing in popularity mostly in Namibia.


Sandboarding Destinations Worldwide

Sandsports


Sandboarding
Sand Sledding
Volcano boarding

Sand Skiing
Sand Kiting

Desert Racing
Dune Bashing
Desert Hiking & Camping
Desert Travel
Desert Camping
Desert Running

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