Wakeboarding - all the info you need

Wakeboarding, the latest crafty twist in water sports

The surface water sport wakeboarding is the combined techniques of water skiing, surfing and snowboarding. Here the rider is tagged behind a cable park or a speeding boat positioned on the wakeboard, riding on the wakes performing tricks. The speeding up of the wakeboard boat depends on the water conditions, size of the wakeboard, rider's weight and the speed desired by the rider. Riders are also sometimes towed by personal water crafts, closed course cables and all-terrain vehicles. Wakeboards are part surfboards and part water ski. The boards are curved to ease the lift. The wakeboard bindings help the riders to hold their feet to the board.

Wiles of wakeboarding
While wakeboarding the rider usually wears a wetsuit and moves towards the wake or drift away from the wake to perform the tricks. Jumps are attempted by striking the wake and leaping into the air. The rider can also take help of the slide bar and ride while keeping the balance. After getting accustomed to the usual stuff of skateboarding, the rider can perform the tricks being lofty in the air. On tightening the wakeboard rope the rider achieves speed towards the wake. Gradually, the tightened rope launches the rider at a point up in the air where he attempts to perform tricks.

Sizes and shapes of wakeboards vary depending on the rider's personal preferences and body weight. The bigger the board, the better it edges and floats. However, larger boards adversely affect the performance of advanced stunts.

Sporty tricks of wakeboarding
Motor boats pull wakeboards across the water and the wakeboarder pops off a large wake behind the boat and performs tricks. He or she sails above water aiming the wakeboard towards the sky.

The riding arts are also determined by the boards camber or rocker. The rockers favor smoother and faster ride without surface resistance. These cambers and rockers are meant for favoring more air tricks during the wake. While riding, the wakeboarders hold on the towropes which are hooked to the boat. Most of the boards are manufactured with wakeboard fins. Fins are located at the bottom of the boards and help in the betterment of personalizing the ride. The beginners use them to obtain more stability. The fins also help the wakeboarders in steering actions.

Maneuvers of Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding involves the practice of tricks like any other freestyle sport. Like surfing and snowboarding, the rider has the opportunity of performing tricks. In wakeboarding, the rider can perform better tricks if he attains more height. The wakeboarders fly drifting through air in order to perform aerial grabs. They clutch the towrope with one hand and reach back to grab their boards.

Surface tricks

Certain tricks are performed by the rider when he or she is not airborne. These tricks include backside butterslide, backside start, bodyslide, perez, potato peeler, surf curve etc.

Spins
The rider takes up the stunt of spin by rotating around like snowboarding. The rider takes up the stunt by rotating 360 degrees. At some instances the writer accelerates the degree of rotation. The various usual stunts of spins are backside, baller, flatline, frontside etc.

The awesome techniques of Wakeboarding have introduced artful thrills in the wet 'o' wild sports.

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