How Wakeboarding Works? Everything You Need to Know
Wakeboarding is one of those sports that you see little kids excelling at while full-grown adults fall time after time.
Is it just something you’re born with? Of course, not. To have a good time riding a wakeboard, you must understand how the whole process works.
When you get all of the physics down, you’ll be on your way to riding waves and doing flips in no time. Well, maybe not flips. You will, however, be having a great time.
We’ll explore the idea of wakeboarding in this article, giving you some food for thought before the summer months roll around. Let’s get started:
Understanding Wakeboarding
Before we get into the whole process, understand that there’s nothing particularly hard or special about wakeboarding. No matter how much leg strength you have or whether you’ve water-skied before, with a little bit of confidence, you can get up on a wakeboard and have success.
We often couldn’t get up on the board or the skies at a young age and discard the idea entirely after that. It’s time to shake those old ideas and click “refresh” on the picture of excelling at water sports.
Before you get out on the water, look at some of the best wakeboarding packages and set yourself up with the best equipment.
Now that we’ve got that out let’s get to the basics.
Getting into Position
Getting up is by far the most challenging part of wakeboarding. Of course, things get a little more complicated as you try to learn new tricks or get fancy with your moves, but getting up is the first obstacle you have to face.
Start by laying on your back in the water with the board at your feet.
The board will naturally try to float face up and flat. Because of this, getting your feet on the board in the correct position may be a little tricky, but you’ll use that buoyancy to your advantage later.
Place your feet in the center of the board, with equal space on either end.
You’ll want to have your feet about shoulder-length apart. In other words, leave the same amount of board on either side of your feet and try to have them as close to shoulder-length apart as possible.
Once you get into the correct position, angle your feet, so the board moves with them. With your feet holding your feet, you’ll have the board at about a forty-five-degree angle upward.
Make sure that you’re comfortable in place. Wiggle your feet and ensure you have a good foothold on the board. Additionally, do your best to stay facing the back of the boat with the rope in your hands.
Ultimately, you want to be leaning back with the board on your feet so that you’ll provide resistance when the boat starts.
Getting on Your Feet
Once you’re in position, give the thumbs up to your driver. They’ll accelerate in a way that doesn’t rip the cord out of your hand but gives you enough tension to pull up.
When they start, it’s your job to hang tight and hold your position. Remember, you’ll be almost parallel with the water with your feet at a forty-five-degree angle toward the back of the boat.
This means that the force of the boat will do its best to pull your entire body forward with it. Next, tilt the wakeboard to a 90-degree angle perpendicular to the water’s surface.
Keep your knees at around a forty-five-degree angle as the boat pulls you forward, and try to hold the board in place. This whole process might seem a little complex, but it’s straightforward when you do it.
As you hold that position, the boat will naturally pull you upward and reach a standing position. There may be a bit of a struggle on your way up, but remember to lean back and keep your feet firmly on the board.
Leaning back will provide stability as you’re on your way up.
Staying on Your Feet
Anyone who’s tried to wakeboard knows that staying on your feet is just as important as getting up. So don’t be bummed out if it takes you a few tries to make it happen.
As you enter the standing position, your natural inclination will be to relax. However, don’t relax right away! When we relax, we tend to lean forward.
When you lean forward too far on a wakeboard, water covers the top of the board and causes you to fall. So you’ll want to stay leaning back and relatively tight until you’ve gotten comfortable with the speed and the waves.
When you come to stand, you’ll notice that you’re riding on a piece of the boat’s wake. Typically, this is a smooth, reliable piece of water that doesn’t change much over time. So it’s lovely to stay in that spot once you get your bearings.
You can hang out in this location for as long as you want, so long as you keep your stance in roughly the same place. The fun part is dancing around a little bit, though.
Try to move around a little bit once you’re standing. Angle the board to the left and right, riding the wave up and down as a surfer would. The further you lean to the left or right, the more difficult it will be to keep your board under you.
That said, it’s essential to branch out once you get comfortable. Moving into discomfort is the only way to improve your skills and have more fun.
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Yvan Lebrun is a trusted expert in the field of product & service reviews. With over a decade of experience analyzing and comparing services online, he shares his valuable experience with readers at GoodSitesLike so consumers can make educated decisions before making a purchase.
