Wakeboarding. Wakeboarding is a relatively new board sport, created from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. Like water skiing, the rider is towed behind a boat or a cable skiing lift but typically at slower speeds (17-24 mph). Instead of skis, the rider wears a single board with bindings for each foot, standing sideways as you would on a snowboard. The boards are shorter in length than a snowboard (typically 130 - 147cm) and wider (up to 45cm) as well as convex (tips 15 - 25cm) rather than concave. The boards also float.
A wakeboarding boat is similar to a water ski boat except that the rope is normally mounted on a tower about 7 feet above the water line. The boat is also weighted and trimmed to give a high wake. The wake can be used to perform various jumps. Steering the board by a combination of direction and cutting the edges of the board into the water, the rider can move outside the wake, then steer rapidly in, hitting the wake and launching themselves into the air (with varying degrees of success
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Wakeboarding is growing in popularity as it is fairly easy to pick up. It offers a wide opportunity for self-expression.
Orlando, Florida is wakeboarding's birthplace.
