7 Benefits of Wakeboarding

What Is Wakeboarding?

Wakeboarding is a water sport in which a rider is towed by a ski boat across the surface of the water on a wakeboard, which looks like a shortened surfboard. 

The rider’s feet are strapped into bindings similar to those on snowboards, while gripping onto a tow rope connected to an elevated tower attached to the back of the boat. 

As the boat increases its speed, the wake produced by the back of the boat allows the wakeboarder to ramp up the side of the waves, performing jumps, spins, and other aerial tricks. By combining elements of snowboarding and waterskiing, wakeboarding has become a popular water sport among novices, casuals, and the more competitive crowd. 

What Are the Benefits of Wakeboarding?

From its low barrier to entry to the positive effects it can have on your physical and mental health, there are many benefits to starting wakeboarding for your body, mind, and sense of community. These include:

• Easy to learn 

As wakeboards are shorter and wider than surfboards, it is much easier for beginners to find their balance than with water ski or surfboards. Thanks to the growing popularity of wakeboarding, there are plenty of instructors with the right expertise to teach you how to start wakeboarding, passing on wakeboarding tips while preventing you from picking up any bad habits.

• Easy to do

The design of a wakeboard allows you to start from a sitting position, and then the pull from the boat will naturally guide you into a standing position. As wakeboarding is possible at lower speeds, with most drivers sticking to 10mph, taking turns and even riding across the wake is much less intimidating, making it possible for beginners to try their hand at some tricks.

• Wakeboarding with or without a boat 

While wakeboarding is more accessible to those who own or know someone who owns a boat, this recreational water sport can even be enjoyed by those without access to a boat, thanks to the development of cable wave parks. Set on small lakes around the States, these parks usually feature two to five towers, each of which has six carrier systems that pull boarders in circles around the lake. When riders eventually fall into the water, they can take a short swim to the shore, then join the line for another turn. With ramps and rails installed in the water for people to use for tricks, cable wave parks provide the perfect training ground for beginners to find their feet.

• Opportunity for socialising

Whether you are taking the boat out with your friends or standing in line for another go around your local cable wave park, wakeboarding gives you the opportunity to spend countless hours on the water with friends while forming new friendships with the wider water sports community.

• Improving balance

While the pull from the ski boat or carrier system will get you onto your feet, staying standing requires you to keep your arms straight, knees bent, and chest up as you take each turn. Holding this body position puts your balance to the test, which will gradually improve over time. In fact, as your wakeboarding skills develop, you may notice that your standing and sitting posture become better, showcasing one of the many health benefits of wakeboarding.

• Building strength

Maintaining balance through your arms, legs, and chest requires a certain amount of strength, especially as you start to incorporate spins and tricks into your wakeboarding sessions. While you might find that you can only stay upright for a few minutes at a time to begin with, eventually you will develop the endurance to skim across the surface of the water for 15 minutes or more, cruising around lakes or completing full circuits at the cable wave park.

• Low-impact sport

Repeatedly landing your skateboard on concrete or snowboarding on snow drifts will eventually put strain on the joints in your knees and ankles, but when you are wakeboarding, the buoyancy of the water takes the brunt of the impact each time you land a jump. This health benefit of wakeboarding makes it possible to participate in the sport for longer without the fear of doing any damage to your body.

How to Start Wakeboarding

If you are interested in trying wakeboarding for the first time, it is important to get kitted out with all the right water sports gear. From finding the right size board and comfortable bindings to wearing comfortable clothing and a reliable life vest, doing some research before you start shopping is sure to benefit your wakeboarding experience.

Once you have your gear sorted, you should look for your nearest cable wave park or water sports venue and see whether they have any in-house wakeboarding instructors who can show you the ropes. Many venues offer beginner classes that group fellow wakeboarding novices together, which is a great way to meet more members of your community while getting over the shared embarrassment of false starts and failing to land your first aerial tricks!

At OnlyInboards, we offer the largest selection of wakeboards, towers, and related equipment, as well as ski boats and inboard boats, to take your time on the water to the next level. For more information about our boating marketplace, or for wakeboarding tips from some fellow water sports enthusiasts, get in touch with the customer sales team at OnlyInboards to start planning your wakeboarding experience today!