sneak a wave under somebody!

[maiabulela]

Dear all,

What does it mean in the field of surfing:

"I snuck a bunch of waves under my competitor to get my scores in that heat with him"

I expected him to say "from" not "under". In both cases how can he steal a wave from another surfer?

Thanks.

[maiabulela]

[BobK]

Well, I don't know. But I expect it's something to do with the etiquette of surfing. Presumably something about your position gives you priority over other surfers when picking a wave to ride. 'Sneaking a wave' sounds like what would be called in Br English 'jumping the queue' - sneaking in in front of other people who have priority.

(I really don't know, but that's what it sounds like.)

b
PS 'Snuck' is an irregular simple past of 'sneak' - not used by all speakers.

[JMurray]

…how can he steal a wave from another surfer?

It looks like we don't have any surfers who can help you with this one, maiabulela, so I'll see what I can do. Be warned that my knowledge of surfing is very limited.
When two surfers are competing they might sometimes go for the same wave, in which case it is the surfer that quickly manoeuvres into the best position on the wave that is likely to score the most points. The surfer in the inferior position will often pull out of that wave. In this way a good surfer can "steal" waves from his competitor and increase his chances of scoring well.
That's how I see it, I await the rebuttals.

not a teacher

[maiabulela]

…how can he steal a wave from another surfer?

It looks like we don't have any surfers who can help you with this one, maiabulela, so I'll see what I can do. Be warned that my knowledge of surfing is very limited.
When two surfers are competing they might sometimes go for the same wave, in which case it is the surfer that quickly manoeuvres into the best position on the wave that is likely to score the most points. The surfer in the inferior position will often pull out of that wave. In this way a good surfer can "steal" waves from his competitor and increase his chances of scoring well.
That's how I see it, I await the rebuttals.

not a teacher

Yes. It makes a lot of sense :) Thanks a lot.