Wakeboarding

As one of the world’s newest extreme water sport, wakeboarding is becoming more than just a hobby, it's a lifestyle for many people who enjoy hitting the water during the day, soaking up the sun and pushing themselves beyond their limits. With over three million participants worldwide, the sport has come a long way in a mere 20 years. With the fantastic weather and amount of waters accessible, Australia is now the second biggest country behind America to get involved in the sport. The number one rider in the world is 15 year old Harley Clifford from Queensland, Australia and as the top wakeboarder in the world; Clifford spends his days travelling from country to country entering competitions on some of the world's best lakes and rivers.

How Does Wakeboarding Work?

The basic idea of wakeboarding is to use the wake created by boats to jump in the air and perform tricks while still airborne. The rider uses a board which has bindings (boots) attached to it, to ride along the water. The board is often said to resemble a snowboard however wakeboards have fins attached to the bottom of the board to assist in moving in the water and are far less flexible than snowboards. Some fins are designed to track stronger through the water as it approaches the wake, whereas others are designed to help beginners by tracking deep through the water to teach beginners the proper edging techniques. There are different boards for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders as well as different binding sizes. For safety reasons, all riders are required to wear a PFD type 3 or type 2 lifejacket when on the water.

More concerned with tricks rather than the speed at which the rider travels, wakeboarding uses purpose built speedboats. The rider is pulled through the water by a rope connected to the boat which is adjusted depending on the rider’s skill level. Beginners generally ride with a shorter rope length of 50 feet whereas advanced riders prefer between 50-80 feet of rope. For beginners, the speed of the boat should not exceed 17 miles per hour whereas more advanced riders can go up to 24-25 MPH. As you start off, a small wake is more desirable as you first want to get comfortable riding behind the boat and getting used to moving along the water and crossing the wakes.

As you gain more confidence and can successfully cross the wake from both sides of the boat, more weight can be added to the boat to create a larger wake. This is done by adding more people in the boat or by using "fat sacks", which are large sacks filled with water to put more weight in the boat. With this additional weight, riders can attempt to jump over the wake rather than keeping their board on the water. Jumping over the wake requires the rider to build more edge and speed as they approach the wake by pulling tight on the rope. When their board hits the top of the wake, they can "pop" and get air between themselves and the water. From here, riders can advance to all different types of inverts, spins and rolls which require a lot of skill and confidence.

But to get to this level, riders need to be able to get up out the water. Beginners start by sitting in the water with the board in front of them and hands on the handle. As the boat begins to pull the rope taut, the rider is pulled into a squat position in the water, once they are comfortable they are simply required to stand up on both legs evenly and turn the board parallel to the boat. More advanced riders will generally either sit or stand on the dock and as the rope is pulled tight, they will jump into the water and avoid getting wet!

Like all sports, wakeboarding has now adapted with plenty of different wake-orientated sports capturing the interest of water sports enthusiasts. Wakesurfing and wakeskating are slowly becoming as popular however the biggest variation of standard wakeboarding is cable riding. Instead of using a wake, rider will use rails, sliders and kickers to perform spectacular tricks in the air or on the rail.

Starting out in California, wakeboarding originated from waterskiers who were also surfboarders. With the lack of waves, the water enthusiasts created "skurfing" as a way to entertain themselves when the open waters where not at optimum conditions. Soon after, the new found sport became increasingly popular and in 1992, the first official wakeboard competition was held, cementing wakeboarding's place in extreme sports.