Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding the wake of a speed boat on a single board. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. Before it was called wakeboarding it was called skurfing (ski + surfing).

As in water skiing, the rider is towed behind a boat, or a cable skiing setup, but typically at slower speeds (16 - 23mph). Beginners start at slower speeds such as 18mph with shorter ropes(45 - 50 ft). More experienced wakeboarders use faster speeds such as 22.5 - 24 mph (speed changes can affect wake shapes drastically), but use 60 feet or longer ropes. Instead of using skis, the rider rides a single board, known as a wakeboard, with stationary non-release bindings for each foot, standing sideways as on a snowboard or skateboard.

The boards, which can float, are typically 120 - 147cm long, depending on the weight of the rider, and up to 45cm wide (shorter and wider than snowboards). Unlike snowboards, whose edges taper in towards the center, the edges of a wakeboard are widest in the middle of the board, with a 15 - 25cm taper. When viewed from the side, a wakeboard has a concave shape; this is known as its "rocker." A board with a continuous rocker has a constant curve to it, and a board with a staged rocker (e.g. "three stage rocker") is made up of two or more straight sections at different angles that approximate a curve.