Alley-Oop
also known as: Alley Oop
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Shown for a regular-footed rider. Teal ring + arrow = the rider's facing direction; teal band = the tail; a dot is where a hand holds the board - bright yellow for the front hand, amber for the back one, which is the whole difference between a mute and an indy. Board and rider rotate independently - each follows its own component. Drag to orbit.
How it works
An air rotated against the direction of travel across the wall: if the rider is traveling frontside along the ramp, the body spins backside (and vice versa), so the rotation unwinds into the landing rather than with it. The physics is a fight between linear drift and opposing angular momentum - the rider keeps sliding along the wall while turning the other way, landing further along the ramp but facing back where they came from in rotational terms. It reads instantly as 'wrong-way' and is prized for exactly that.
Step by step
- Carve along the wall with lateral drift - say traveling frontside across the ramp.
- Leave the coping and wind your shoulders opposite the drift, starting a backside rotation.
- Grab to lock the board while the body turns against the direction of travel.
- Let the drift carry you along the wall as the counter-rotation completes 180.
- Release, land below the coping further down the ramp, and ride away forward.
Body mechanics
| Front foot | Presses the grip, keeping the deck coupled to the counter-rotating body. |
|---|---|
| Back foot | On the tail, steering the pitch as the landing arrives sideways to the drift. |
| Shoulders | Wind and turn opposite the direction of travel - the trick's entire definition. |
| Arms | Grabbing hand locks the board; free arm swings against the drift to power the counter-spin. |
| Gaze | Track the landing zone sliding along the wall beneath you - it moves, you rotate the other way. |