Wakeboarding is a combination of water skiing, snowboarding, and surfing, in which a rider is towed along by a boat while riding a board. This sport was developed in the 1980's, it used to be called skurfing. It was said to be created in Australia and New Zealand.
The wakeboarder or the rider is usually towed by a boat. The rider can also be towed in other ways like closed-course cable systems, winches, personal watercraft, trucks, cars, and all-terrain vehicles. The rider can hop on the board flat and follow the cable; they can also be on the edge of the board so they can move from side to side.
Various jumps and other techniques are performed by the riders. They usually do this by riding towards the wake of a boat and launching into the air. The boards used in wakeboarding are usually made of foam, honeycomb, and coated fiber glass. Wakeboarding is usually done in lakes, while others also do this by the beach.
Similar Sports
- Kneeboarding — a participants are pulled along while kneeling on a convex board.
- Waterskiing — riders are pulled along behind a boat skimming atop the water wearing one or two skis.
- Surfing — participants stand on a surfboard, and use the waves for propulsion.
- Wakesurfing — riding the boat wake using a modified surfboard
- Tanker Surfing — surfing the wake of lagre ocean tankers
- Jet Ski Racing — a water sport similar to powerboat racing, in which riders use jet skis to compete.
Related Pages
- There is a push to get wakeboard into the Olympics
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports