Sailboarding and windsurfing: why are there different names for a single the same sport?
In 1964, S. Newman Darby not only invented the sailboard but also opened the way to a new wind and water sport - windsurfing.
Sailboarding is the original term used to describe the outdoor activity in which someone stands up on a board connected to a mast and sail.
Harnessed by the power of the wind, the sailboarder glides across the surface of the water.
A few months after revealing his innovative invention to the world, Darby said that "sailboarding is sailing with a difference: you get all the fun of handling a fast, responsive boat, and have the fun of spills without the work of righting and bailing out."
So sailboarding is, in fact, the original name for what we now call windsurfing. However, things have changed over time.
Today, there's a healthy debate on whether to use the word windsurfing or sailboarding and boardsailing.
The discussion focuses on what's at the core of the sport. Is it the fact that you ride the wind or the fact that you sail on a board and not in a boat?
In other words: is it all about surfing the wind (windsurfing) or sailing with a typical board (sailboarding/boardsailing)?
Windsurfer and Windsurfing: Two Words That Became Generic
When the sport was building its own industry, there were a few attempts to claim the word "windsurfer" as a trademark.
Although the term was registered in the United States for a few years, it lost legal acceptance in many countries because the expression was considered too descriptive.
A few years later, the registration ended up losing validation in the United States, too.
But while the legal disputes were still underway, participants preferred to use sailboarding and boardsailing to describe their favorite new sport.
No one wanted to receive a prosecution letter from a corporate lawyer, so they avoided the use of the words "windsurfer" (product: Original Windsurfer) and "windsurfing" (company: Windsurfing International).
However, as time passed by, the words "windsurfer" and "windsurfing" fell into generic use, and the trademark registrations were no longer valid.
There are windsurfing fans who support the idea that windsurfing is a recreational sport that you do with wind and waves in any body of water, while sailboarding is something you do with just wind, for example, in closed bodies of water like lakes.
Windsurfing tends to sound cooler because of the immediate association with its older brother, surfing.
And it can also be interpreted as the wind sport that allows you to go surfing - in a broader sense - without the need for waves.
All you need is a gentle breeze and water.
Interestingly, the word "windsurfer" has problems in itself. Why? Because it is widely used to describe the person who windsurfs, but also the whole equipment. And that can cause confusion.
The truth is that today, the term sailboarding is less used and mainly preferred by older sailboarders.
Windsurfing is by far the most popular name - 60 to 1, according to Google Trends - and nearly everyone understands it.
by SURFERTODAY