How Wakeboarding Works

The first wakeboard, the Skurfer developed by Tony Finn, was first marketed in 1985. Shaped like a surfboard, it had a pointed nose, rounded tail, and surfboard-like fin. The Skurfer took off in popularity, and others in the watersports industry began to take notice of this quickly growing sport. Herb O'Brien, owner of H.O. sports, a water ski manufacturer, designed a wakeboard called the Hyperlite. The design of this board made maneuvering easier and allowed the sport to become more accessible to all sorts of people.

Boards are now about five feet long and two feet wide at the center, with a blunt nose and tail. A fin or several fins allow them to be more easily maneuvered. Most wakeboards are made from fiberglass and graphite, and they feature bindings that are attached to the board to hold the boarder's feet. Most recently, manufacturers have included a twin-tipped design that allows for easiest movement in all directions.

While wakeboards may look alike, they vary greatly in performance. It's important to consider the pop a board can get, the edge it keeps, its landing ability, and maneuverability in the air, which we'll discuss later. When considering a wakeboard purchase, you should request to take a demo ride in order to find one that is right for you. You can buy a wakeboard at most boat, ski, and skateboard shops. In general, wakeboards range in price from just under $200 to around $800.

As you get the hang of things, you may also be interested in a ballast, or additional weight on the boat. This can make your wake -- the wave created behind the boat-- bigger. You'll probably also use a kicker -- a ramp you use to catch air, similar to a skateboard ramp.­

As you learn about the wakeboard, you'll want to know more of the lingo, too. When you hold the board in your hand, it's called a grab. When you bone out, your legs are fully straightened. Sometimes you'll case, which means you land directly on top of the wake. When the water is calm and smooth, it's called glass. If you fall on your wakeboard, you can say you bailed. Speaking of falling -- digger, faceplant, wipeout and stack all refer to a bad wreck. You may even do a butt check -- a sloppy landing, where your butt slaps or drags along the water. If you experience a bumpy or turbulent wake, you can call that a ­washy wake. You may be either a goofy foot -- if you ride with your right foot forward -- or a regular foot -- if you ride with your left foot forward.

Now that we know the basics of the wakeboard, let's take a ride.

Wakeboarding is a fairly easy sport to learn, especially if you have surfing experience. It's a little different than waterskiing, however, because wakeboards travel at lowered speeds and different angles, which might challenge a person accustomed to waterskiing. Whatever your level of water sport experience, in only a few lessons, you can learn how to mount your board, develop skills in several wakeboarding positions and even attempt a jump.

First things first: Getting up onto your wakeboard might seem daunting to a beginner, but it's actually quite easy. Start by sitting with your knees bent, your arms straight, and the board perpendicular to the boat. Let the boat pull you up as it takes off. Once you're standing, maintain equal weight on both feet. Keep your head up and your shoulders in line with your hips.

Now that you're up on your board, you may want to try a few more moves. Two popular jumps are the roll and the flip. When you roll, you move end-over-end (edge-over-edge) -- either toeside-over-heelside or heelside-over-toeside. Toeside just means the side of the board closest to your toes and heelside means the side of the board closest to your heels. You take the wakeboard over your head end-over-end, landing in the same direction in which you started. When you flip, the tail -- the end of the board farthest from the boat -- moves over the tip (nose) -- the part of the board closest to the boat.

These two movements refer to the board itself, rather than the rider. In gymnastics terms, a roll is similar to a somersault as the board goes end over end. A flip is like a cartwheel as the board moves nose over tail.

Once you've mastered the two basic jumps, you'll want to increase the height you pop into the air from the wake. Pop or air refers to the amount of space between you and the water. The higher the jump, the more air you've got. The most important part of getting more air is the way you edge into the wake. Gradually increase your edge as you approach the wake. Then, jump off the top of the wake by extending your knees. You'll get more lift and more air.

A few other maneuvers include:

When you first begin wakeboarding, it's generally a good idea to start with a boat speed of 20 mph (32 kph). This speed will allow you to develop control and will give you enough speed to get lift on jumps. As you develop confidence in your skills, you can build up speed to 23-24 mph (37-39 kph). Keep in mind your body size, rope length and comfort zone when you decide the speed of your boat.

Now that we've reviewed basic wakeboard maneuvers, let's try a new twist. Learn the physics of wakeboarding, and try a few more tricks.

Before you learn to jump, it's helpful to understand some of the principles of physics that apply to wakeboarding:

The two main forces that most influence the way a wakeboard moves are the resistance (drag) that the board encounters when moving through the water and the tension of your rope. Tension is a reaction force: It's directly related to how much force is applied to a rope. The harder you pull on a rope, the higher the tension and the more force the rope exerts on you. In order to keep your wakeboard afloat, you need the tension from the rope to counteract the pull of gravity and stop you from breaking through the water's surface tension. The rope's tension can also give you additional speed. If you lean back, causing the rope to stretch a little farther, you apply more force to the rope, and it simultaneously applies more force to you. You can use this force to get more power behind your tricks.

When you increase the amount of stretching, you increase the power of the tension's force. This is also called loading the line.

Now that you've got the science of wakeboarding under your belt, let's use it to jump off a wake. Lean back and toward the center of the board in order to lower your center of gravity. This motion increases the ropes tension and gives you some additional speed as you take off. A few feet before you hit the wake, slowly stand up. Bend your knees and slowly edge toward the wake while keeping the tension of the rope tight. Along with the tension of the rope, this motion helps you jump upward off the wake. The rope will pull you forward, also pulling up your center of gravity.

Next discover some great wakeboarding spots and who else out there's wakeboarding.

An offshoot of popular youth boarding sports such as skateboarding and surfing, wakeboarding promotes a sense of youthful camaraderie. Surfers developed this spinoff as a way to have fun on days when there were low waves. This constant search for adventure fits the wakeboarding lifestyle, which is about pushing the limits. While wakeboarding and water sports in general might conjure up images of bleached-blonde surfer dudes hanging out on beaches in the sun, wakeboarding is a serious sport that offers a variety of health benefits. Wakeboarding burns 350 calories per hour and also tones up arm, leg, abdominal and back muscles [source: Black].

In addition, wakeboarding appeals to a variety of ages. It's not unusual in wakeboarding circles for a 75-year-old man to take lessons or a grandfather to form a wakeboarding club. Although wakeboarding was created by youth, it attracts diverse groups of enthusiasts.

While some people wakeboard just for fun, others take it to another level. First held in Tahiti 1971, the World Cup sponsored by the International Water Ski Federation has evolved for more than thirty years to reflect the quickly developing popularity of waterskiing and wakeboarding. These days, the Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup brings together the world's top-ranked wakeboarders to compete at a variety of stops around the world. Competing in Russia, Singapore, Egypt, India, Qatar, and Malaysia -- which are just a few popular wakeboarding spots -- participants represent 19 countries. In order to participate, athletes must rank in the top 20 according to the International Water Ski Federation. The goal of the World Cup series is to bring the best water sport athletes to highly-populated, international urban environments to bring more exposure to these sports.

Although wakeboarding appeals to a broad range of people and offers many benefits to the body, it can be dangerous. A survey of 156 orthopedic surgeons and 86 wakeboarders revealed that 77 percent of wakeboarders sustained some sort of injury, the most common of which included ACL tears, ankle sprains or shoulder dislocations. [source: Carson].

Nonetheless, the wakeboarding craze seems here to stay. Wakeboarding has even spawned new sports like wakeskating, another popular and growing sport.

Are you ready to get in on the action? Follow the great links below for lots more information on how wakeboarding works.