Now that you've mastered riding and have pulled a few huge tricks, I bet you're ready to enter yourself into some wakeboarding competitions. Or maybe just go and watch some other people compete at the highest level.
Well, you’re in luck. The summer is the time for all the big names in the sport to compete all around the U.S.A. and parts of Canada.
One of the biggest competitions going on is WakeStock in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. WakeStock is a huge four-day wakeboarding event. It’s happening July 24-27.
The only downside of this is that for the four day event it's going to set you back about 55 dollars, and that's not including gas, sleeping, food or gear you may buy.
But this is not only a wakeboarding competition, but also so much more.
You also get to experience the best of the best wakeskaters. Wakeskating is similar to wakeboarding except you are not bound into your board. It’s closer related to skateboarding, as the trips are more board tricks, like kick flips, ollies, and shuvits.
You also get to experience over 25 big name bands, like Story of the Year, Deftones and Goldfinger. Along with a huge skateboarding event, and a moto-x event.
If you like extreme sports, amazing wakeboarding, this is the event for you.
If you can’t make WakeStock, or can’t get into to Canada, don’t fret there are many more events going on in the states.
Over in Bordentown, NJ is the 3rd annual New Jersey Wakefest. It’s happening June 14 and has not as much to offer as WakeStock, but you will definitely see some amazing boarding.
You also could swing over to Virgina for Boardapalooza over at Oak Grove Lake Park in Chesapeake, VA. It’s happening June 28, and is FREE to come and watch, which is always sweet.
This summer is looking to be an amazing one with all the wakeboarding events going on, if you have some time, don't mind to drive and love the sport or want to learn more about it, you should totally check out one or more of these events. I know I will be.
For more event to hit up check out these sites:
Wakeboard Midwest for upcoming clinics and tournaments in the Midwest area.
WakeBoarding Mag online for a huge list of events going on nation wide.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
So you want to wakeboard
With the weather warming up, the trees blooming, and more people coming out of hibernation, the boats are beginning to be rolled out of storage and into the water.
This means that the wakeboards are being pulled out of storage too.
Wakeboarding is snowboarding for the water loving person. It involves thrills, spills, and lots of fun.
Although wakeboarding has been around for about twenty years, it has only recently started to evolve into a well know sport.
More tournaments, magazines, camps, videos, equipment, and media coverage has been focused on the sport. The popularity increase is due to the fact that more young people are into trying to push their bodies to the limits, and because professionals are pulling bigger and better tricks.
So you want to wakeboard?
If you have never wakeboarded before, getting up can be kind of tricky. Without getting the fundamentals right, trying those big tricks can become even harder.
But good new, getting up can be a lot easier with the proper form and technique.
If you don’t have other boarding experiences, such as skateboarding, snowboarding or surfing, you will have to figure out what your lead foot is, the foot that is pointing towards the boat.
This can be done a number of ways, doing simple tests.
One test is to have a friend stand behind you, and when you aren’t ready, have them push you forward. What foot did you put in front to stop you? That’s your lead foot.
Chad Lowe, a seven-year wakeboarding instructor at The Wakeboard Camp, in Clermont, Florida, explained another test to me. He said to imagine you are running in socks across hardwood floors, and need to stop suddenly. Which foot would you put in front to stop? Whichever one you said, is your lead foot.
If all else fails try getting up with one foot, if that doesn’t feel right try the other.
Once you’ve found your lead foot, it’s time to figure out the basic position your body needs to
be in for the initial pull.
While sitting in the cannon ball position put both hands on the handle and wrap your arms around your legs, make sure to keep your arms straight out in front of you, and position the board under your butt. Congratulations, you are now in the basic position.
If you’ve never water skied, or done other water sports before, you may not understand how a pull of a boat feels. The best way to get used to it is to be pulled manually on land.
It may sound stupid, but in the long run it will cut down your time trying to get up.
The main thing to remember is you want to resist the pull. You don’t want to stand up too early, or you’ll fall.
It's the same thing when you take this to water. You need to sit back, relax, and let the boat do the work.
When you finally take it to water, have the driver idle here you'll feel the pull of the boat, and should be able to get into the starting position much easier.
When you are ready have the driver accelerate, increasing the pull of the boat.
Remember to sit back, with your arms straight, allowing the boat to do all the work.
When you are out of the water move your lead foot, and hip, towards the boat, keeping both hands on the rope and your hips parallel to the wake.
The driver should be pulling you around 14-15mph. If you don’t get up your first time, don’t give up. Everyone takes a different amount of time to get it the main thing is to have fun doing it.
Once you get comfortable with riding around, try cutting back and forth through the wake. Before you know it you'll be pulling the big tricks like the pros.
For more infomation on wakeboarding go to: WakeBoarding Magazine
Foundations at Wake-Board.org
LearnWake
For information on gear, boats and where to buy go to: BuyWake
Board Paradise
Tige Boats
Boat Buyers Guide
For information on where to ride in the Upstate NY area: InfoRochester
This means that the wakeboards are being pulled out of storage too.
Wakeboarding is snowboarding for the water loving person. It involves thrills, spills, and lots of fun.
Although wakeboarding has been around for about twenty years, it has only recently started to evolve into a well know sport.
More tournaments, magazines, camps, videos, equipment, and media coverage has been focused on the sport. The popularity increase is due to the fact that more young people are into trying to push their bodies to the limits, and because professionals are pulling bigger and better tricks.
So you want to wakeboard?
If you have never wakeboarded before, getting up can be kind of tricky. Without getting the fundamentals right, trying those big tricks can become even harder.
But good new, getting up can be a lot easier with the proper form and technique.
If you don’t have other boarding experiences, such as skateboarding, snowboarding or surfing, you will have to figure out what your lead foot is, the foot that is pointing towards the boat.
This can be done a number of ways, doing simple tests.
One test is to have a friend stand behind you, and when you aren’t ready, have them push you forward. What foot did you put in front to stop you? That’s your lead foot.
Chad Lowe, a seven-year wakeboarding instructor at The Wakeboard Camp, in Clermont, Florida, explained another test to me. He said to imagine you are running in socks across hardwood floors, and need to stop suddenly. Which foot would you put in front to stop? Whichever one you said, is your lead foot.
If all else fails try getting up with one foot, if that doesn’t feel right try the other.
Once you’ve found your lead foot, it’s time to figure out the basic position your body needs to
be in for the initial pull.While sitting in the cannon ball position put both hands on the handle and wrap your arms around your legs, make sure to keep your arms straight out in front of you, and position the board under your butt. Congratulations, you are now in the basic position.
If you’ve never water skied, or done other water sports before, you may not understand how a pull of a boat feels. The best way to get used to it is to be pulled manually on land.
It may sound stupid, but in the long run it will cut down your time trying to get up.
The main thing to remember is you want to resist the pull. You don’t want to stand up too early, or you’ll fall.
It's the same thing when you take this to water. You need to sit back, relax, and let the boat do the work.
When you finally take it to water, have the driver idle here you'll feel the pull of the boat, and should be able to get into the starting position much easier.
When you are ready have the driver accelerate, increasing the pull of the boat.
Remember to sit back, with your arms straight, allowing the boat to do all the work.
When you are out of the water move your lead foot, and hip, towards the boat, keeping both hands on the rope and your hips parallel to the wake.
The driver should be pulling you around 14-15mph. If you don’t get up your first time, don’t give up. Everyone takes a different amount of time to get it the main thing is to have fun doing it.
Once you get comfortable with riding around, try cutting back and forth through the wake. Before you know it you'll be pulling the big tricks like the pros.
For more infomation on wakeboarding go to: WakeBoarding Magazine
Foundations at Wake-Board.org
LearnWake
For information on gear, boats and where to buy go to: BuyWake
Board Paradise
Tige Boats
Boat Buyers Guide
For information on where to ride in the Upstate NY area: InfoRochester
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
