The most important dates in the history of bodyboarding

The history of bodyboarding is full of key moments, events, and achievements. Discover the dates that helped change the sport.

The bodyboard was brought to us by Tom Morey in 1971. Since then, the sport of bodyboarding has conquered millions of fans and participants worldwide.

As one of the youngest water sports on the planet, boogie boarding still has a long way ahead on its path to becoming a mature recreation with a robust and sustainable industry and a full-grown, professional, competitive format.

Nevertheless, several steps have already been taken, and the bodyboard remains one of the most accessible pieces of equipment in boardsports you can find.

Let's take a look at the most important dates in the history of bodyboarding:

1971: Tom Morey invents the bodyboard on July 9 and gives it a try at Honels in Hawaii;

1973: Morey Boogie, the most famous bodyboard company of all time, is founded;

1976: The first Morey Boogie contest is held in Carlsbad, California;

1977: Tom Morey sells Morey Boogie to Kransco;

1977: Phyllis Dameron becomes the first bodyboarder to ride the waves of Waimea Bay;

1980: Pat Caldwell lands his first el rollo at Pipeline;

1982: Daniel Kaimi wins the first-ever International Morey Boogie Bodyboard Pro Championships at Pipeline;

1983: Mike Stewart, the most successful bodyboarder of all time, wins his first of nine world titles;

1983: Mike Stewart invents the gyroll maneuver;

1984: The Morey Boogie Mach 7-7, one of the most popular bodyboard models of all time, hits the market;

1985: "Bodyboarding," the world's first boogie boarding magazine, is released alongside Surfing Magazine;

1986: Mike Stewart and Ben Severson surf Teahupoo, in Tahiti, for the first time;

1990: Stephanie Pettersen is crowned the world's first female bodyboarding champion;

1993: Michael "Eppo" Eppelstun lands the world's first air roll spin (ARS);

1994: Kransco sells Morey Boogie to Wham-O;

1995: Guilherme Tâmega and Claudia Ferrari win the first-ever GOB World Tour;

1996: Mike Stewart follows and surfs an 8,000-mile swell from Tahiti (Teahupoo) to Hawaii (Maalaea), and then California (Newport Beach) and Alaska (Yakutat);

1997: Matt Percy wins the first edition of the Shark Island Challenge;

1998: Mike Stewart founds Science Bodyboards;

1998: The first season of the European Tour of Bodyboard (ETB) kicks off;

1999: Mike Stewart's Pro Bodyboarding, the world's first bodyboarding game, is released for PC;

1999: Surfer Magazine lists Tom Morey as one of the 25 most influential surfers of the 20th century;

2003: Damian King and Neymara Carvalho conquer the first edition of the IBA World Tour;

2009: Mike Stewart wins the Arica Chilean Challenge at 46 years old;

2011: Pierre Louis Costes wins the inaugural ISA World Bodyboard Championship, held in the Canary Islands;

2013: Jake Stone pulls off the first-ever 720 air in New South Wales, Australia;

2014: Amaury Lavernhe and Alexandra Rinder claim the first world titles of the APB World Tour era;

2016: Mike Stewart is the first bodyboarder to have his name and board on the Surfer Wall in Nazaré;

2017: A group of international bodyboarders decides to celebrate International Bodyboarding Day on the first Saturday of November;

2017: Kai Lenny rides the world's first foil bodyboard;

2020: The APB era comes to an end, and the IBC World Tour takes over;

Have we missed a key date? Send us an email.