Wakeboarding Outlined

Wakeboarding is a relatively new addition to the plethora of activities in the water sports genre. The sport is gaining in popularity as its inclusion in Extreme Sports competitions brings wakeboarding more exposure to the public and athletes alike. Originally called Skurfing, wakeboarding is a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing. Wakeboarding employs elements from all of these sports, using a powerful boat to tow the rider, similar to waterskiing, and a shortened, buoyant board that the rider’s feet are strapped into. The wakeboarder can perform tricks off the wakes of the high-speed boats, applying maneuvers from skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing. These moves are described with such terminology or slang such as catching air, tootsie roll, tantrum or hoochy glide.

Wakeboarding’s origination began in Orlando, Florida in 1985 when two surfing and water skiing aficionados had the idea to combine the two sports to create and market a new boardsport. Tony Finn is credited with being the inventor of the skurf and Jimmy Redmon designed the skurf board to include bindings for the feet that would ultimately define and distinguish the sport. This design element was crucial for the development of the sport as the rider can ride and control the board as in surfing yet could also perform tricks, catch air and add some razzle-dazzle and self-expression to the sport without losing the board from the feet.

In 1989, Redmon, who is known as the guru of wakeboarding, formed the World Wakeboarding Association (WWA) which was created to establish rules, stipulate consistent and fair standards for competition in events such as the widely popular X Games and to help educate and expose the public in improving wakeboarding skills. Since 1990, when ESPN provided exposure and legitimacy to the sport through a nationally televised Skurfing Championship, the sport has gained popularity and development in skill, equipment, technique and intensity.

The sport earned its current wakeboarding title from businessman Herb O’Brien who developed his Hyperlite Pro board that revolutionized the sport with his compression-molded neutral buoyancy materials. This new design has become the standard in board production and enables the rider to perform exceptional tricks and generally have more fun while wakeboarding. O’Brien’s wakeboard widened the market and made it possible for non-professionals to enjoy the sport due to his design making it easier for the layperson to perform a deep start and ride. Redmon furthered the engineering of the wakeboard to include a twin-tip to the bottom to assist with the rider’s balance.

In wakeboarding, the rider stands sideways with his or her feet strapped onto a buoyant board with stationary non-release bindings, as in snowboarding. The rider is towed by the boat with a length of 60 feet or longer of rope, as in waterskiing. The rope is attached to a tower on the high-speed boat that accelerates at various speeds, pulling the rider behind it. Depending on the skill of the rider, the boat can travel faster to create larger wakes (the swell of water that is produced from the acceleration of the boat moving through the water) that the rider can ride and develop his or her personal style while performing tricks, which adds an exciting element to this sport.

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