Thinking of getting into wakeboarding? You’re not alone. It has become one of the fastest growing extreme sports of the twenty first century with wakeparks and cable tows popping up all over the world. However, there are a few different wakeboarding types and styles that it’s worth learning about: wakeboard vs wakeskate vs wakesurf.
On top of wakeboarding, wakesurfing and wakeskating you have to factor in the difference between towed and cable riding, which creates subtle differences in riding style.
Different Wakeboarding Types and Styles
- What is Wakeboarding?
- What is Wakeskating?
- What is Wakesurfing?
- What is Boat Tow Wakeboarding?
- What is Cable Tow Wakeboarding?
Wakeboard vs Wakeskate vs Wakesurf
Here’s our quick guide to the different wakeboarding types and styles, plus points and drawbacks of each. Hopefully, this will help you to decide which one of these disciplines is for you.
What is Wakeboarding?
We have to start with wakeboarding because of the three types of board riding, this was the first to really gain notoriety and wider attention. As we’ve already mentioned, it’s a combination of waterskiing, surfing and snowboarding skills. In a way, just like snowboarding was a logical progression from skiing, so wakeboarding followed from waterskiing.
Said to have originated in Australia and New Zealand and have been created by snowboarders during the summer season, the sport really took off in the late 80s. It was originally called skurfing, but thankfully that name never really took off.
Riders are towed behind a boat (although sometimes it’s a cable – see below) at typical speeds of around 18 to 25 miles an hour. Depending on the size and style of the board, riders can attempt tricks and jumps by lifting off from the wake created by the boat. For that reason, the type of boat used is very important to all three styles, with specialist wake boats often being preferred.
Wakeboarders are attached to the board with bindings and the curved shape of the board, known as the ‘rocker’, aids the movement over the water. There are a number of different rocker types but it’s really down to personal preference which one you ride.
What is Wakeskating?
With a similar design of board to wakeboarding, this variant differs in one key area. Namely, that the rider is not attached to the board in any way. Much like riding a skateboard and hence the name.
The top surface of the board is covered with grip tape or high traction foam to allow some hold and riders will usually wear shoes for extra grip while riding. Speeds are slightly slower than conventional wakeboarding.
What is Wakesurfing?
If you think about it, it’s not really surprising that wakesurfing actually predates wakeboarding. It’s not a huge leap of imagination for surfers who saw water-skiers in action to want to give it a try on their boards.
The rider uses a tow rope behind a specially designed wakesurfing boat that produces a surfable wave. Once up on the board you release the tow and ride the wake of the boat like conventional surf – except that it never ends.
The boards used are smaller than a regular surfboard, around five feet or shorter. Although wakesurfing has its roots back in the late 70s, it was really a minority discipline for a long time. In the last couple of decades interest in the sport has renewed.
Boat Wakeboarding vs Cable Wakeboarding
It is not just the board beneath your feet that dictated the different styles and types of wakeboarding. But also how you are towed across the water.
What is Boat Tow Wakeboarding
The three forms of wakeboarding can all be enjoyed by towed behind a boat. Very similar to water skiing and knee boarding you hold onto a tow rope attached to a boat. In fact the name comes from playing in the wake formed by the vessel passing through the water.
Many serious riders prefer the freedom and natural wake only created by a boat. Then again, with a wakeboat setting you back anything from about $50,000 upwards, it is not a cheap sport to get involved in. Of course there are people hiring out the use of these boats, usually with a qualified skipper, for wakeboarding travel and adventures all over the world.
What is Cable Tow Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding and wakeskating (but not wakesurfing for obvious reasons) can also be practised on a closed-course cable system. Many wakeparks have opened up around the world offering a much lower cost form of wakeboarding. While the cable system can be quite an outlay it is less than a boat. Plus once it has been constructed, it can run and run.
Of course, in a cable park you don’t have the choppy waters of a wake meaning that tricks and jumps are limited to obstacles are placed in the water. Cable systems are great for learning the ropes, it is much easier to get standing at there is more vertical pull than you get from a boat.
Types of Wakeboarding
What the variety of different wakeboarding types and styles does show us is the amount of ingenuity and freedom available in the world of extreme sports. Disciplines are constantly evolving and developing, following the familiar route from pioneer, to early adopter to mainstream acceptance.
There are always people out there willing to try something new and create an entirely new way to have fun on the snow, water or in the air. And that’s why we recommend you give all of the different types of wakeboarding a go.
Wakeboard vs wakeskate vs wakesurf which way to wake do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below. And check out these top destinations to wakeboard in Europe.
