Regular or Goofy? How to Find Your Snowboard Stance

If you are about to ride a snowboard for the first time, the first question is: which foot goes in front? On a snowboard both feet are strapped to the board and you stand sideways; your front foot sets the direction and your back foot steers the turns. Starting with the right stance makes the first days much easier.

What do regular and goofy mean?

If your left foot is in front, you ride regular; if your right foot is in front, you ride goofy. Neither is better: most riders are regular, but plenty of famous snowboarders ride goofy. What matters is finding the stance that feels natural to you.

Easy ways to find your front foot

• The push test: Stand relaxed and ask someone to give you a gentle push from behind. The foot you step forward with to catch yourself is usually your front foot.
• The slide test: Take a run-up in socks on a smooth floor and slide. The foot you naturally put forward is your front foot.
• Skateboarding or surfing: If you have skated, surfed or wakeboarded, the foot you put forward there is usually the same on snow.
• The ball test: The foot you kick a ball with is often your back foot; your standing foot goes in front.

If the tests disagree, go with the answer that comes up most. If your stance feels wrong in the first hours, tell your instructor: bindings can be swapped round in a few minutes.

Binding angles

The angle of your bindings relative to the board is set in degrees. There are two common setups for beginners:

• Duck stance: The front binding angled forward and the back one angled backwards, for example +15° and -15°. Your toes point slightly outwards, which makes riding in both directions easier.
• Forward stance: Both bindings angled forward, for example +15° and 0° or +18° and +3°. For riders who mostly ride one way and like the feel of carving turns.

When you rent equipment, tell the shop whether you ride regular or goofy and they will set up the bindings for you.

Stance width

The distance between your bindings is roughly your shoulder width, and most boards have reference holes to help you set it. Too narrow makes balance harder; too wide tires your knees. The right width is the one that feels comfortable with your knees slightly bent.

Switch: riding the other way round

After a while you may want to learn to ride with your back foot in front, which is called riding switch. A duck stance makes switch easier, but in the first days focusing on one direction helps you progress faster.

We describe what to expect on your first day in our guide to snowboarding at Erciyes. Once you have found your stance, it is time for your first turns: our guide on how to turn on a snowboard is the next step.

• Snowboarding
• Snowboard stance
• Beginners
• Equipment