For those who have gotten over the thrill of waterskiing or knee boarding, there is another sport that is fun to try: wakeboarding. This sport requires a different type of board than the others and it more reminiscent of snowboarding or skateboarding than waterskiing. It requires that the individual gets used to standing a different way in the bindings so that the body placement is different than waterskiing of knee boarding. However, once the equipment has been bought and the stance has become more normal to the individual, wakeboarding is a fun and exciting sport that can last a lifetime.
How to Begin
One of the first steps for a beginner is to decide what foot he wants to have in front in the bindings of the wakeboard. One wakeboarding tip that helps in finding this out is to see which foot the individual puts into a pair of pants first. This is usually the foot that he will want to have in front in the bindings while wakeboarding. Another way to find out is to stand with his eyes closed and have someone push him from behind, gently, so that he has to catch his balance without thinking about which foot he is going to put forward to do so. This also will usually be the foot that he will use in the front during the wakeboarding experience.
The wakeboard should be larger and have fins in the back when a person is just beginning. This will give him more stability and control when learning to wakeboard. He can always switch to a smaller board at a later time when he has mastered more of the basic skills and is ready to try some of the more advanced techniques in wakeboarding. When in the water, the person should always check the bindings to make sure that they are secure before starting off. He should always check them again whenever he has had a rough ride or when he has crashed to make sure that they have not become loose.
When starting off in wakeboarding, there are a couple of ways to do so. There is the deep water start that is most commonly used for beginners in wakeboarding. The person should start off on his back in the water with the wakeboard at a perpendicular angle to the rope that is attached to the boat. As the boat moves forward, the person should move into a crouched position on the wakeboard so that he is ready to stand when the boat is going fast enough. Once in position, the driver of the boat should be signaled to go faster so that the person can stand up.