Information about Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a boat. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques.

The rider is towed behind a boat; typically at speeds of 18-24 miles per hour depending on water conditions, rider's weight, board size, and all depending on the riders comfort speed. But wakeboarding can also be performed on a variety of media including closed-course cables, winches, PWCs, and ATVs.

Wakeboards

Wakeboards are buoyant with the core usually made up of foam or honeycomb mixed with resin and coated with fiberglass. Metal screws are inserted to attach bindings and fins.

The configuration and positioning of the fins and bindings varies according to rider preference and is adjusted for a variety of reasons. A wakeboarder will change the type of fins he uses for different types of tricks. For example, shallow fins (ones that do not stick deep into the water) are better for flat spins (surface tricks).

Bindings are sometimes angled in a way that enables the rider to ride the board backwards (also known as "Switch" or "Fakie"). New riders will sometimes set up the bindings to be comfortable to ride in there natural direction. If, however, they wish to ride switch they must adjust their bindings as it can be painful and dangerous to ride with certain binding configurations.

Ropes and Speed

The lines that tow wakeboarders are similar to water ski ropes, but are often made of non-stretch material such as spectra or dynema in order to allow the rider to build up line tension in the execution of tricks.

Beginner wakeboarders generally start at slower speeds in order to cushion their falls. A common starting point is 14-20 km/hr. They also typically utilize shorter ropes in order to facilitate "clearing the wake" since the wake is narrower as the rider gets closer to the boat.

The speed and rope-length at which wakeboarders ride is often adjusted to accommodate personal style and weather conditions.

Boats

Although wakeboarders can be pulled behind a variety of boats, there are specialized wakeboard boats now on the market. A wakeboard boat typically is a mid-sized boat (around 22 feet) with an inboard motor. It can be outfitted with a tower that attaches the rope about two meters above the water line in order to keep the line above the riders head and give the rider an upwards pull. Most wakeboard specific boats also come with a ballast system which allows riders to pump water into the boat in order to increase water displacement. This makes the boat sit lower in the water and due to it displacing more water makes a bigger wake.

A significant portion of wakeboarding boats are [V-Drives]. These boats are still inboards but the engine is placed in the rear of the boat facing backwards and the drive shaft goes towards the front. The "V" in the name derives from the angle that is created where the shaft is reversed in order for the propeller to spin in the correct direction.

In addition to dedicated wakeboard boats, many professional riders use a PWC to pull them for surface tricks or rail session. A large wake is not necessary to ride rails and is good for maneuvering in tight areas where a boat needs a larger area to turn around. A large wake IS necessary in competitions.

Riding

Using edging techniques, the rider can move outside of the wake or cut rapidly in toward the wake. Jumps are performed by hitting the wake and launching into the air. This can also be done by hitting a kicker (a jump). There is also the slider (a rail bar)in which a rider approches and rides along keeping his balance. Once a rider improves in the sport, he or she can progress to tricks high in the air. As the rope tightens the rider gains speed toward the wake. When hoes goes airborne, the tightened rope launches the rider. While in the air the rider attempts to do tricks.

Rocker

The "rocker" is the bend in a wakeboard from tip to tail. There are many various types of rocker shapes, but the most common are the continuous and three-stage rocker. A continuous rocker is a smooth curve that does not change from tip to tail, while a three-stage rocker has two distinct bend points, almost like a skateboard deck but not nearly as drastic.

Wakeboards with continuous rocker are faster to ride because the water flows without disruption across the bottom of the wakeboard. Wakeboards with a three-stage rocker push more water in front of the wakeboard, making the ride slower but riders are able to jump higher off the water.

Length

Throughout the years different riders have been known to ride wakeboards that may seem too big or too small for them according to the manufacturer’s sizing chart. The reason is that wakeboards a size smaller or a size bigger can help distinguish a certain style of riding. Using a smaller wakeboard will make the wakeboard feel lighter, spin faster and seem more aggressive but also make landing neatly more difficult. Using a larger wakeboard lends a slower, smoother style.

Width

The width of a wakeboard directly affects how high it sits in the water. There are three places to check wakeboard widths: tips and tails – those are generally the same – and in the middle. Narrower tips and tails sit lower and make the wakeboard turn more aggressively. Wider tips and tails allow for more surface tricks, and a better release for spins off the wake. However, the main variable that changes with the width of the middle of the wakeboard is the height that can be gained off the water - the wider the middle of the board, the higher it will sit in the water and the harder it will bounce off the wake.

Bottom Design

There are many different bottom designs in wakeboards – it is a feature wakeboard shapers use to express their own style. On the bottom of the wakeboard you will see concaves, channels or maybe nothing at all. Each performs a different function, fine-tuning how the wakeboard rides through the water according to its width from tip to tail, fin setup, rocker and tip and tail shape.

Concaves create lift and make the wakeboard sit higher in the water. Ever so simply, concaves in different areas of the wakeboard created lift in different areas of the wakeboard. For instance, a double concave in the middle and a single concave in the tip and tail keep the wakeboard riding higher in the water overall. But the double concave in the middle will always sit higher than the single concave.

Channels act like long fins. It’s something for the water to run into and along to help the wakeboard edge harder. If there are channels through the middle of the wakeboard and not at the tip or tail, it will be a hard-edging wakeboard but will still release well through the wake, depending on the fin setup. On a wakeboard with channels running through the tip and tail, the fins will hook better and the wakeboard will not release as well through the wake. Finally, a featureless wakeboard bottom basically lets the tip and tail shape, and the width throughout the rocker and the fins determine the nature of the board.

Fins and Placement

The closer the fins are placed towards the center of the wakeboard, the quicker and better the wakeboard releases from the wake. The farther out towards the tip and tail they are placed, the longer the wakeboard will stay hooked into the wake and it won’t release as well.

Long based fins Their effect is almost the same as a short fin with a long base because they have a similar amount of surface area. Long-based fins release better, give the wakeboard a loose, snowboardy feel when riding flat through the water, and they hold up better on rails and ramps.

Molded fins These are just big channels in the board that act like fins and hold up on rails and ramps. Molded fins are slippery, but most boards have a removable center fin.

Multi-finned set-ups These capture the maximum edge hold and aggressiveness into the wake and through the wake.

Canted side fins These are fins that lean out on an angle. These fins are not as active when the wakeboard is riding flat through the water, but the more you lean on edge the more the wakeboard hooks up. The inside fin digs while the outside lifts, creating leverage to help the wakeboard edge hard. Great for 50-50 grinds, nose presses and tail presses.

Cupped side fins They have the same effect as canted fins but add more of a push-pull effect. The cupped fin allows you to use a smaller fin but still get the hold of a bigger fin due to the increased surface area of the cupped side of the fin. These fins are very deceiving – they look small and loose but really aren’t.

Development of the sport

Wakeboarding arose in the late 1980's after the advent of skiboarding. The actual sport of skiboarding is credited to Tony Finn (who invented the Skurfer in San Diego, CA) Jimmy Redmond (Austin, TX)later drilled holes in skurfers to affix bindings. The term "wakeboard" was coined by Paul Fraser(Vancouver, Canada), as well as the concept and design, along with his brother Murray and a Pro snowboarder they sponsored. Paul approached Herb O'Brien with the idea and the introduction of the "liquid force" wakeboard, named by Eric "The Flyin Hawaiian" Perez, layed the groundwork for evolution of the wakeboard throughout the 1990s.

The World Skiboard Association was founded in 1989 and the First World Skiboard Chanmpionships was held on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii, on the Wailua River. The next year Eric Perez defended his title against Darin Shapiro. This is when the Hyperlite wakeboard was introduced and blew everyone away. The first US Nationals were held later that same year in Colorado Springs, CO on Prospect lake, hosted by Tommy Phillips. Competitions began popping up around the United States throughout the early 1990s. Wakeboarding was added as a competitive sport in the X Games II. The World Skiboard Association "changed it's focus" and was re- named the World Wakeboard Association.

Wakeboarding Maneuvers

As with many freestyle sports such as snowboarding and surfing, there is almost a separate language of terms to describe various tricks. The more height, the more "pop". So therefore the rider's edge is very important to the height of the jump. Heading towards the wake chest facing the boat is known as a heelside edge; approaching from the other direction with chest facing away from the boat is known as toeside edge. A typical beginner to intermediate rider will tend to have an easier time hitting the wake heelside because it tends to come more naturally to the rider. While more advance riders can hit the wake both heelside as well as toeside.

• Raley - the rider hits the wake and allows their body to swing backwards, up overhead, parallel to the water. The rider then swings the board and his or her body down and lands on the other side of the wake.
• Fakie or switch - the rider rides the board with their weak foot forward (opposite of their normal stance,i.e. left foot or right foot forward).
• Switch air raley - the rider starts and ends an air raley in the switch position.
• Butter slide - a rider approaches the wake, "snaps" the board sideways so that they can slide on top of the wake.
• Surface 360 - a rider spins the board 360 degrees while riding the surface of the water.
• Tantrum - a rider back flips over the wake on an axis perpendicular to the direction of the board.
• Backroll - a rider flips (or rolls) over the wake on an axis parallel to the direction of the board, as if he/she were following it around like a continuous loop
• Frontroll - a rider flips forward (or rolls) over the wake on an axis parallel to the direction of the board.
• Boardslide - a rider approaches an obstacle and slides the board-- perpendicular with the obstacle-- along the obstacle,with the obstacle in between the rider's feet.
• Half-cab - when doing a trick from your switch stance and landing it with your regular stance.
• Tootsie Roll - Front roll to blindside 180.
• Blind Judge - Backside raley to blindside 180.
• Scarecrow - Toeside front roll to revert.
• Bel Air - Tantrum without using the wake for air.
• Air Krypt - Toeside air raley with 180 degree turn, land opposite direction from take off.
• Hoochie Glide - Air Raley with method grab.
• Whirlybird - Tantrum Mobius with overhead handle pass.
• Tweety Bird - Whirlybird without using wake for air.
• Osmosis 540 - Frontside 540 where instead of passing the handle behind the back, the rider pops the handle and catches it again upon the end of the rotation.
• Backslide Alley-Oop-Huge jump with 180 turn landing on reverse butter slide on same side of wake as you hit.

See also

• Skurfing
• Surface Water Sports
• Wakeskating
• Water Skiing

References

Wakeboarding Magazine. "Wakeboards", Kyle Schmidt.

External Links

• The World Wakeboard Association
• Wakeboarder.com
• Wake-Boarding.org
• Wakeboarding Magazine
• The Wakeboard Report
• WakeWorld