Frequently Asked Questions

Wakeboarding is one of the most innovative, evolutionary and fast-growing watersports in the world and has broken boundaries with what can be done on a board.

From the family tree where lies snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, kitesurfing and even water skiing itself, wakeboarding has taken the world by storm with its unique take on boardsports. It allows us to have fun and get fit in an exciting and safe way, all the while looking pretty cool doing it!

In wakeboarding, you are towed behind either a boat or a cable above (although some more experienced riders have started using winches to explore urban wakeboarding – See Redbull for more!).

Boat and cable wakeboarding are often said to be different but use almost identical equipment and require a lot of similar movements and tricks. For both types of wakeboarding, you use a single board with non-release bindings while standing sideways (as with a snowboard or skateboard) and holding on to a handle. The board is buoyant, so you don’t need to worry about swimming or sinking – the handle is brought right to you by your driver while you just float.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to have done similar sports or have a particularly high level of fitness and strength to participate. When you have the right coach, you will be able to get up and ride on the water.

Boat Wakeboarding:

Boat wakeboarding in simpler terms is where you are travelling at faster speeds (18-24mph), using the wake and planing on the water to do specific movements and tricks. Your board will have fins and ordinarily be lighter in weight as they have a foam core to help with your ‘grip’ on bumpier water.

In technical terms, the rope is mounted about 2 metres above the water and the boat is weighted and trimmed, with large water ballast tanks in order to give a larger wake. This basically allows for a lot of weight to be placed to create a bigger and more defined wake which riders use to cross, jump off and do tricks across! The wake is used as kickers or ramps would be on a cable system.

Cable Wakeboarding:

Cable wakeboarding on the other hand is arguably more park/ freestyle orientated as the rider will often use kickers (jumps) or features such as boxes and rails to slide across or do tricks on. The cable will run at lower speeds (7-9mph) if it has 2 points where you go up and down (2.0 system cable), but at much faster speeds if it is a full system cable (like a circuit often with 5 or 6 points). Your board will not have fins and will often be totally smooth along the base with a more durable and robust build to allow for easier sliding on the water and more strength when hitting obstacles. The rope is high above you, therefore some often say it is easier for beginners to learn as you are pulled out of the water at a steeper angle.

Wakeskate? Wakesurf?

A more advanced variation is wake-skating, which has extremely close ties to urban skateboarding. This consists of a similar shaped board with no bindings and often with grip tape on the top, like a skateboard. The rider stands on the board either barefoot or wearing a pair of trainers and performs tricks that would typically be performed on a skateboard. This can be used behind the boat or cable and is even often used by high level riders when learning new tricks for a wakeboard.

Wakesurfing is, as the name dictates, is like surfing. In wakeboarding, the rider is pulled by the boat via a tow rope while a wakesurfer only uses a tow rope to get them started on the wave. Once a wakesurfer is up and on the wake, they drop the rope and ride freely on the wave created by the boat’s wedge. Another difference is that wakesurfing happens much closer to the boat. This makes it more sociable as your friends can sit at the back of the boat and chat to you while you ride- hopefully with words of encouragement, but that depends on the friends.

Wakesurfing continues to grow in popularity as more people realise how much fun it is and how easy it is to get up and riding if you have a little professional tuition.

Get in touch to find out where you can get coaching!

(credit to: “Wake Up! Wakeboarding, Thailand)

Trick Dictionary

As with many freestyle sports such as snowboarding and surfing, there is almost an entire language of terms to describe various tricks. The sport is growing enormously in popularity, with many participants finding it relatively straightforward to learn, whilst offering a massive opportunity for self-expression.

www.wakeboarder.com/tricks/tricks.phtml
IWWF Cable Wakeboard Trick List

Where Can I Do It?

The following WWS sites are where you can wakeboard and receive UKCC coaching:

Dunfermline Townloch National Training Site
Loch Lomond Wakeboard, Ardlui
Foxlake Adventures, Dunbar
Wild Shore Dundee
Glasgow Wake Park
Kyle Waterski & Wakeboard Club
Aberdeen Waterski & Wakeboard

Why Should I Do It?

Not only does wakeboarding improve your physical health and wellbeing, such as core strength, balance, agility, dexterity and even some cardio, but in fact it has been proven to help drastically with mental and social wellbeing. Wakeboarding is proven to help with confidence, self-esteem, improving moods and determination in positive scenarios where there is coaching and an empowering environment.

Our coaches are UKCC qualified, guaranteeing you a fun, safe and effective session with us on and off the water.

We make sure our approach is skier/rider – centric, so we do what you want to work on and take your thoughts and feelings into consideration throughout when designing exercises and lessons.

Don’t worry, our UKCC coaches know exactly how to adapt to what you want and need in our sports. The process of learning will always be completely at your pace and allow you to voice what you want to learn and when.

www.bwsw.org.uk/coaching-and-qualifications/coaching-courses/ukcc-level-2-water-ski-and-wakeboard/

There is definitely a lot of cross over with these sports, so it will help, but definitely is not a prerequisite.

Recreational waterskiing is very similar to alpine skiing. Both incorporate a similar body position and motion, with the key differences being the shape of the skis, the bindings and the surface upon which they are performed.

However, as much alpine skiing/snowboarding offer advantages in learning, they also will highlight some habits you will need to get rid of!

For example, in snowboarding, you use your edge and turn the board very often in standard movements, whereas in wakeboarding you use your shoulders and hips to lean and initiate ‘cutting’ to move from one side to the other. Of course, this is all very well explained by our UKCC coaches, so don’t ever let it stop you!

This is your Governing Body for the sport. As the name describes, this group of up to 9 work on the ‘nitty-gritty-behind-the-curtain’ bits such as governance, safeguarding, strategic planning, financial management and decision making.

We have an opportunity each year at the AGM as a WWS Member (other than junior or social members) to nominate a candidate aged 16 years or over to join the board. Without our board, we would have no true direction in our sport and our support systems would collapse.

Our SGB work closely with sportscotland and other sport directors across Scotland & the UK to create a world-class sporting system that overall works to enhance and support active and healthy living in our communities with positive opportunities for everyone to get involved.

This is often a question which has come up across our sports delivery points and counterparts.

The NTS is the National Training Site for Waterski & Wakeboard Scotland and its Governing Body. It is the ‘hub’ of the board of directors and is a non-profit organisation where all profits made from the site and its operations are reinvested back into the sport or in the site maintenance. The site acts as a place where training and learning takes place such as UKCC coaching courses and boat driving lessons for all members across Scotland.

‘WWS’ is the overarching name of our Governing Body, Waterski & Wakeboard Scotland. WWS lead the governance and development of water skiing and wakeboarding across the country and work closely with sportscotland to enhance participation and learning.