Surf Levels

These are the goals to achieve in each Surfing level at Noah Surf House!

Level 1

  • Surf history
  • Safety rules, at the beach and once in the water
  • Knowledge about the surf gear: design, function, how to use and take proper care of it
  • Observation skills (swell, tides, sandbars, currents)
  • Where to surf, according to one’s skill and experience
  • Basic knowledge and assessment of weather conditions
  • Theoretical foundations for the further development and applicability of practical skills
  • Self-sufficiency in the water, with and without one’s surfboard
  • Being able to catch broken waves on one’s own
  • Being able to perform the take-off on broken waves without losing balance
  • Riding the broken wave without losing balance
  • Riding the wave and performing the "up and down"
  • Riding the wave and performing the upper-body rotation
  • Riding the wave and performing the transition from toes to heels
  • Riding the wave and shifting pressure between the front and the back foot
  • Performing front-side turns
  • Performing back-side turns
  • Connecting turns surfing front-side
  • Connecting turns surfing back-side

Level 2

  • Efficient evaluation of the conditions in the ocean
  • Knowledge and assessment of weather conditions and possible hotspots for the present day
  • Choosing one’s style of surfing and the path to follow (shortboard, longboard)
  • Theoretical foundations for the further development and applicability of technical skills
  • Rules to abide by/comply with in the line-up (paddling, positioning, priorities)
  • Assessing the vibe in the line-up: different kinds of crowds and how to deal with the locals
  • Survival techniques in challenging conditions and perilous situations
  • Introduction to rescue techniques and first aid care
  • Knowledge of how, where and when to paddle out/ paddle in depending on your location
  • Paddling efficiently on one’s own in waist to chest-high swells with possible larger sets
  • Paddling outside going over the whitewash
  • Paddling outside going under the whitewash (turtle)
  • Sitting on the surfboard outside and selecting waves to be ridden
  • Catching unbroken waves with the instructor´s help
  • Catching unbroken waves by oneself
  • Performing a well balanced take-off and dropping the wave standing up
  • After the take-off, being able to ride frontside on the green wave
  • After the take-off, being able to ride backside on the green wave
  • Performing gentle turns in the face of the wave riding frontside
  • Performing gentle turns in the face of the wave riding backside
  • Knowing and observing priority rules
  • Performing a frontside bottom turn at entry level
  • Performing a backside bottom turn at entry level
  • Performing a frontside top turn at entry level
  • Performing a backside top turn at entry level

Level 3

  • Further development of water rescue techniques and first aid care
  • Further development of survival techniques in heavy water
  • Analysis and further development of classic and progressive surfing technique and their respective moves
  • Knowledge of surfboard design and construction process: method, components and purpose of different shapes
  • Surf ethics, in and outside of the water
  • Accurate assessment of the overall water and weather conditions
  • Full self-sufficiency in the water, on the inside as well as on the outside, with head high to overhead surf
  • Being able to duck-dive the board to get through and past the waves while paddling out
  • Full self-reliance in being able to select the waves to be
  • Evincing flow and proficiency at the takeoff
  • Evincing flow and proficiency while taking the drop
  • Angling the drop to ride frontside
  • Angling the drop to ride backside
  • Evincing flow and proficiency in on rail frontside bottom turns
  • Evincing flow and proficiency in on rail backside bottom turns
  • Evincing flow and proficiency in on rail frontside top turns
  • Evincing flow and proficiency in on rail backside top turns
  • Being able to do a frontside cutback
  • Being able to do a backside cutback
  • Evincing proficiency while trimming frontside
  • Evincing proficiency while trimming backside
  • Being able to do a frontside re-entry
  • Being able to do a backside re-entry
  • Being able to do a frontside floater
  • Being able to do a backside floater
  • Being able to adapt one’s surfing to meet the type of waves on offer
Get live with us

Santa Cruz

Tuesday, 08 July 2025

Source: darksky.net & worldtides.info