|
Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is a surface water sport. It was created from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. Before it was called
wakeboarding it was called skurfing (ski + surfing). As in water skiing, the rider is towed behind a boat, or a cable skiing setup, but typically at slower speeds (16 - 23mph). Beginners start at slower
speeds such as 18mph with shorter ropes(45 - 50 ft). More experienced wakeboarders use faster speeds such as 22.5 - 24 mph (speed changes can affect wake shapes drastically), but use 60 feet or longer
ropes. Instead of using skis, the rider rides a single board, known as a wakeboard, with stationary non-release bindings for each foot, standing sideways as on a snowboard or skateboard. The boards,
which can float, are typically 120 - 147cm long, depending on the weight of the rider, and up to 45cm wide (shorter and wider than snowboards). Unlike snowboards, whose edges taper in towards the center,
the edges of a wakeboard are widest in the middle of the board, with a 15 - 25cm taper. When viewed from the side, a wakeboard has a concave shape; this is known as its "rocker." A board with a
continuous rocker has a constant curve to it, and a board with a staged rocker (e.g. "three stage rocker") is made up of two or more straight sections at different angles that approximate a
curve.
Where to Buy Wakeboards
Why compromise your fun and safety by purchasing wakeboards from a warehouse or a retailer who knows nothing about the sport or products they sell? Large
Internet stores try to entice their customers by listing low prices, yet are typically incapable of providing key information to their customers. Without proper advice, you may be wasting your money on
lower quality wakeboards or be duped into spending an unnecessary amount on one that is top of the line, but unnecessary for your needs.
At Water Ski World, we have been in the business of
watersports for over 30 years. Founded by aficionados of the sport, we have watched it evolve, participating closely in its development. In fact, we have been a close part of the design and testing of
many of the products listed on our inventory. This gives us unparalleled insight into these products, allowing us to provide the best advice to our customers.
O'Brien, Blindside, and CWB are
but a few of the top brand names we carry. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran of the sport, you'll be sure to find what you are looking for on our website. Nevertheless, if there is
something in particular that you do not see listed, don't hesitate to contact us directly. Our inventory is always changing and expanding, and we will work hard to get you what you need.
Wake Board
A wakeboard is to water-skiing what a snowboard is to standard skiing. It is ridden in a similar fashion to a snowboard, with both feet attached to a single board. Perceived as
simpler to learn than traditional water-skiing, wakeboard nevertheless requires quite a bit of practice before riders are able to pull off some of the more impressive tricks and maneuvers.
Choosing the Right Wakeboard
When choosing a wake board, it is important to consider its size, bindings, and additional features that will have a direct impact on what you can do with it. Most
importantly, the wakeboard you choose should relate directly to your skill level in the sport. Many customers rush to buy the best piece of equipment they find only to discover that they would have been
better off with something else. At Water Ski World, our goal is to pair our customers with the best equipment for them.
A simple difference between boards can be noticed between what are
considered "beginner boards" and "advanced boards". A beginner wakeboard typically has edges that are somewhat "squared" in order to provide better balance and stability.
Wakeboards designed for more advanced riders usually have more rounded edges, providing greater speed and better maneuverability.
Nevertheless, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to
the variety of wakeboards that exist. At Water Ski World, we offer an extensive selection of wakeboards and accessories from a variety of leading manufacturers. More importantly, with over 30 years of
experience in the field of water-sports, we can answer any questions you may have--even recommending the type of equipment you may need depending on your experience, goals and skill level.
Wakeboarding History
It is not entirely certain where wakeboarding came from. It progressed from many different sports during the 1980's but there are a few key sports and individuals that
stick out as contributors to wakeboarding.
Surfing is one of wakeboarding's closest relatives and one of the main contributors to the sport. One of the earliest forms started by surfers
getting pulled out to sea by boats to catch waves or being pulled by a truck along the shoreline. A surfer named Tony Finn developed one of the first wakeboards called the Skurfer. In the early
1980's he and his partner John Hamilton started mass-producing the Skurfer, which looked much like a mini surfboard. Later straps were added to allow riders to perform additional tricks.
Throughout the 1980's the sport was known as either skurfing or skiboarding. One of the problems the sport first encountered was the inability to draw big crowds to competitions. The boards and boat
wakes were modified to allow riders to perform more spectacular tricks and gradually crowds increased. Another problem was that the early wakeboards were difficult to get up with because of their high
buoyancy.
The next person to help in the evolution of the sport was a surfboard and water ski producer named Herb O'Brien. He helped develop the first neutral-buoyancy wakeboard, the Hyperlite
Pro. With an innovative rider, Darin Shapiro, promoting and riding the new board the sport took off. Darin was known for getting huge air while being pulled behind a helicopter.
Wakeboards
continued to get better and better throughout the 1980's. They were made thinner with sharper edges. Jimmy Redmon was responsible for changing the shape from a surfboard shape to twin-tipped, so that
riders could ride regular or fakie.
In 1990 Jimmy Redmon founded the World Wakeboard Association and also produced many of the sports rules and regulations. He went on to develop boards for Liquid
Force and helped get the sport into the X-Games.
Wakeboarding was originally an event at water ski competitions. It was finally recognized with its own competitions in the U.S. in 1992 and
received great exposure on ESPN. The first wakeboard tournament in Canada was held in Brooks, Alberta during the "Source Series" Recreational Tour in 1994. Two years later the first Canadian
National Wakeboard Championship was held in Huntsville, Ontario.
What Is Wakeboarding?
A wakeboard somewhat resembles a snowboard but is used to ride on water, like water skiing. The boards are
shorter in length than snowboards and slightly wider. Riders are towed either behind a boat or a more recent addition, the cable ski.
Wakeboarding is about personal expression. Riders are
generally innovative and creative; as a result they have created a sport that is exciting to watch and more fun to perform.
Wakeboarding comprises a wide range of ages and skill levels. However,
most competitive boarders are quite young, in their teens to early 20's. Their style and attitudes are laid back, similar to the skateboarding or snowboarding but a bit more upscale, as it requires
quite a bit of money to buy a boat. However, cable parks have recently started to emerge in North America making it more affordable to get on the water.
A wakeboarding boat is similar to a water
ski boat and just as expensive, with high-end boats costing over $100,000. Wakeboard boats tend to be heavier than water ski boats and have a different shape (to create a larger wake) with a tower or
pole to which the rope is normally mounted. For those that cannot afford wakeboard-specific boats, large sacks filled with water are used to increase the size of the wake and create a superior ride.
Generally at competitions riders are allowed two passes through the wakeboard course during which he/she may perform any routine they wish, this is known as Freeride. Riders are judged on three
categories - execution, intensity and composition.
Execution reflects the level of flawlessness to which each maneuver is performed, as well as the completion of the routine with minimum number of
falls. Intensity represents the technical difficulty of the tricks and how big the moves are performed. Composition reflects the structure of the routine in terms of the rider's ability to a variety
of tricks in a flowing, creative sequence.
-
The World's Fastest Growing Water Sport
Since its invention in the late 1980's, wakeboarding has taken the watersports world by storm. A
sister sport to surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding, wakeboarding has extended the popular board sports lifestyle to thousands of lake bound summer boarders.
Where did wakeboarding originate
from? To answer this, we must first consider the influences, and they are from other water and board sports such as surfing, skateboarding, and water skiing. From these different sports, wakeboarding was
spawned as a mixture of all the sports, with some other ideas blended in. Unlike snowboarding, there is really no solid history for wakeboarding, but of course there are the few important people and
events that have helped mold and shape wakeboarding as it is today.
Tony Finn, a surfer from San Diego was an important pioneer. Mixing together the surfboard and water ski, he designed what is
known as the "skurfer". Being basically a small surfboard with no straps that attached the rider to the board, the skurfer was hard to get up on and riders were limited to carving. In the
summer of 1985 Tony's two windsurfing friends, Mike and Mark Pascoe gave Tony foot straps which were drilled into the board, a very important contribution.
Now fastened to the skurfer, the
rider could perform aerials, with the new ability to get air off the wake. This improvement however, rendered it hard to do deep-water starts and to keep the board on the surface of the water.
Struggling, the sport was saved by Herb O'Brien. Herb owned H.O. Sports and was extremely knowledgeable about watersports. He got together with some of Hawaii's best surfboard shapers in 1990 and
made the first compression molded, neutral buoyancy wakeboard, the Hyperlite.
Neutral buoyancy gave the board the ability to float as well as the able to be submerged without a lot of effort,
unlike a surfboard, which is almost impossible to submerge. This technology launched the sport into gear, being named skiboarding for awhile, but wakeboarding soon became the official name. With
continuing refinement and research Herb O'Brien added a "twin tip" shape to the board. This allowed a rider to be able to ride switch stance.
Jimmy Redmon, who founded the World
Wakeboard Association (WWA), then started making rules and formats for competitions, beginning the wakeboard competitions. The sport took off in 1992 when World Sports & Marketing began running pro
wakeboard events. This gave the sport the recognition it deserved and exposure on ESPN and ESPN2.
Fact: Wakeboards now outsell water skis 20 to 1
|
