ting the rider up out of the water.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Because wakeboards have a large
surface area, they require very little
power to get up out of the water. A
slow and steady pull is much easier
to control than a strong full pull. As a
driver, use a slow idle to keep the
rope in tension. Once the rider is
ready, accelerate slowly to 15 mph.
Consistency is important too.
Before doing any serious wakeboarding, you can check your speedometer
for accuracy using a handheld GPS.
Use your GPS to set your speedometer for accuracy and note the speeds
the rider likes.
The final thing you need is a
competent spotter. Not only is it the
law in Canada, it is also common
sense. The spotter’s role is to translate
the rider’s actions into information
that the driver needs; he or she must
also be ready to assist the rider if
trouble occurs. It’s important that
everyone in the boat discusses hand
signals and speeds and understands
what is required of them before going
out to wakeboard.
PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD
Since wakeboarding is a sideways
standing sport like snowboarding, you
must first figure out which foot is forward. This is easy if you already
snowboard or slalom ski because it is
the same foot forward. Your front foot
will normally be your stronger foot.
The easiest way to figure this out
is to imagine sliding across a linoleum
floor in socks. The foot you lead with
is your dominant foot. The basic riding position for wakeboarding is
equal weight on both feet, knees and
ankles bent, holding the handle in
front of your lead hip and with your
head up, looking at the boat.
It is very important to remember
when you are wakeboarding that
your lead hip guides you in the direction that you want to go. For example, to go directly behind the boat,
point your lead hip to the boat.
GETTING UP
Believe it or not, getting up is both
the easiest and hardest part of wakeboarding. It’s easy because if you
relax and let the boat pull you forward, you’ll get up right away. It’s difficult because your mental programming wants you to pull yourself up
with your arms and to try to stand up
too early with your legs. This will
result in tired arms and many
attempts.
To get up on a wakeboard, your
knees should be bent all the way to
your chest, arms extended all the way
out, with your head up looking
towards the boat. As the boat starts
moving, you will feel pressure on the
bottom of your feet. Let the board
slide towards your “bottom” and let
the boat pull you forward onto the
balls of your feet.
From there you can slowly stand
up by extending your legs, but not by
pulling on the rope. As you are standing up, slowly bring your lead hip
forward to the handle and stand in
your basic riding stance, with equal
weight on both feet, knees and ankles
bent, with your handle in front of
your lead hip looking at the boat. All
being well, you are now riding!
Not everyone gets up on the first
try. So, here are some common mistakes and some solutions to get you
up and riding.
If the rider is struggling and the
board is pushing what looks like a
wall of water, this is a clear indication
that they are pushing out with their
legs when they feel the pressure on
the bottom of their feet. This is the
most common error in getting up and
can be solved by sucking the heels of
your feet back towards your bottom.
The next most common error is
falling backwards. This is caused by
pulling the rope in with your arms
and can be solved by keeping your
arms completely straight.
The last common problem is falling
forward onto your face. This is due to
trying to stand up too early. The only
solution for this is patience; keep your
knees bent up to your chest for longer.
Wait until your board is on top of the
water before you stand up and
remember that it’s not a race!
Hopefully these pointers came in
handy when learning to wakeboard.
Remember that wakeboarding is a
sport of endless possibilities and there
is no limit to what you can learn. At
any point in your wakeboarding
career, a visit to a nationally certified
school will help you take your wakeboarding to the next level while
having a fun and safe time. ●
www.waterski-wakeboard.ca
Jay Poole and Blake Rowsell are Head
Instructors for Team Fun Watersports,
( www.teamfun.ca). Both Blake and Jay are
Canadian Certified Watersports Instructors
as well as examiners for the Canadian Water
Ski Instructors course.
