How to Wakeboard - Beginner Wakeboarding Tips
Trying wakeboarding for the first time might feel daunting. But with the right boat, the right equipment, the right board, and a beautiful Arizona lake, there's no reason you can't have some fun out on the water.
These are the basics every beginner wakeboarder needs to know. This article explains how to get prepared for wakeboarding, how to get up on a wakeboard, how to find your dominant foot, tips, tricks, and even tips for finding a great wakeboard boat and driving it to help your rider.
What is wakeboarding?
Wakeboarding is a combination of snowboarding and wakesurfing. Riders use rubber bindings to secure their feet to the wake board and ride the wake.
The rider stands parallel on the board holding a tow rope behind a boat designed specifically for wake sports. Wakeboards being towed can feel wobbly and most riders have trouble resisting the urge to pull against the boat in an attempt to stand.
But as you learn and practice wakeboarding, you'll develop a good technique for riding and want learn tricks and get in the air.
The best wakeboarders ride wakeboards that are built for the sport. These have fins down the middle which help maintain stability. Having the best equipment improves your ride, safety, and helps you learn wakeboarding.
How to Wakeboard
Start by tying your rope to the tower as short as you can. This will give you the most upward pull as possible which helps you get up.
Then, while still on the boat, make sure your board is set up properly and put on a life vest for safety. Secure your feet in the bindings, with your dominant foot forward. Set your feet shoulder width apart and your boots angled out slightly on both feet.
To get in the water, sit on the swim platform, and just slide in. This is better than jumping into the water where you can fall backwards and risk hitting your head.
Once in the water, it's the boat that really does the work to help you get up.
How to Get Up on a Wakeboard
There are 3 basic rules to getting up on a wakeboard.
Keep your arms straight
Bend your knees
Let the boat and the rope pull you up
Now that you're in the water, get lined up with the boat keeping the board horizontal in front of you. Keep your arms straight, the edge of the board out of the water, and lean back with your knees bent. Resist the urge to try to pull yourself up as the boat begins to move through the lake.
As the boat is beginning to pull forward, bend your knees more than you think. And make sure to keep them bent even as the boat starts to move. You're going to end up in a full squat position while leaning backwards, before you're able to stand. Let your buttocks hover over the board and wait until you feel lined up over it to stand.
Once you are lined up, you'll feel the boat begin to pull you up to standing. As you are pulled up to standing, put your lead foot slightly forward as you stand.
And now you're off!
How Do I Know Which Foot Goes Forward on a Wakeboard?
A common question is whether you are 'regular' or 'goofy' in a water sport. If your left foot is in front then you're 'regular.' If your right foot is in front, then you're 'goofy.' Most people stand with their left foot forward which is why it's considered 'regular.'
There are a few ways to determine your dominant, or lead, foot. The easiest way is the 'pants leg test'.
The Pants Leg Test
People tend to balance on their dominant foot when putting on pants. The next time you put your pants on, notice which foot you lift first. This is your dominant foot and goes into the wakeboard binding in front, facing forward.
Wakeboarding Tips for Beginners
Let the boat do all the work
Don't try to pull with your arms or push out with your legs to try to get up. This makes the wakeboard sink and wobble. Instead, let the boat pull you up from your bent-knee squatting position.
Bend Your Knees
A big mistake many wakeboarders make is not bending knees enough. If you find your hands are getting pulled all the way up towards your board, you're not bending your knees enough.
Stay Standing By Distributing Your Weight
Hold pressure against your heels and keep to the outside of the wake to stay standing. Another option is to stand directly behind the boat with the rope at your hip and your weight evenly distributed over your feet. Either of these ways will keep you balanced enough on the water to stay standing.
Arch Your Back While Turning
When turning, it helps to arch your back once you get outside the wake to create more leverage between your body and the rope.
How Do I Turn On My Wakeboard?
The 2 easiest ways to turn on wakeboards is either 'heel-side' or 'toe-side.' These ways to turn set you up for doing wakeboarding tricks as you improve.
Heel-Side Turning While Wakeboarding
Put pressure against your heels that will dig the backside of the board into the water. This allows your weight to be on the edge of the wakeboard and cut through the water.
Toe-Side Turning While Wakeboarding
Toe-side turning means putting pressure over your toes while digging the front of your board into the water. This is the most challenging way to turn because you have to stand up completely straight and lean back on the rope.
Beginner Wakeboarding Tricks
Once you have learned the basic heel-toe and toe-side turns and are feeling comfortable with the fundamentals of wakeboarding, you can start to think about doing some super cool tricks.
There are a few beginner wakeboarding tricks that will help you get the started and build on these for more advanced tricks later on.
Heel-side jumps, 180s, and switches are the best beginner tricks. As you get better, you can go for Whirly Birds, where you spin around in the air and show off for your friends.
Techniques For Driving A Wakeboarding Boat
To help the wakeboarder get up on the board, you need to drive the boat the right way.
And the key is to go slow.
Start by just slowly idling forward, going very slow, then gently accelerate while waiting until the rider is steady on their board and is ready to stand before going faster.
Always have a spotter and a flag ready for safety.
Types of Wakeboarding Boats
A boat used for wakeboarding needs to have enough power to pull the rider up and be less than 30 feet. Boats of this size tend to make better wakes than a larger boat.
The best wakeboard boats have a deep V-shaped hull, 350+ horsepower, and enough seating for about 6 passengers. You need a boat with speed control, a hull designed to make a clean, crisp wake, and a tower giving you a high toe point for wakeboards.
The best wakeboarding boats are Heyday Wakeboats have 4 models of boats and a unique V-shaped hull and transom design that will make a clean, crisp wake that never ends.
Sanger boats are known for quality craftsmanship and wake sport design.
Campion boats have beautiful finishes and a unique hull design made for creating good wakes and also fuel efficiency.
Malibu boats have a ballast system that allows you to choose the size and shape of the wake.
Each of these boat manufacturers are great for water sports and wakeboarding. They have the right wakeboarding equipment to pull you behind a boat. The tower, transom, position of the rider, size, shape, and speed are tailored specifically for a great day wakeboarding.
Wakeboarding Equipment
Every wakeboarder needs to wear a Coast Guard approved life vest.
Men and boys need board shorts and women and girls need a swimsuit that won't ride up or fall off while wakeboarding. You don't want to be messing with your swim suit while you're trying to get up on a wakeboard. Most women choose surf shorts and a bikini top.
You also need a decent wakeboard.
Types of Wakeboards
A beginner wakeboarder needs a beginner wakeboard that is the right size for the rider. It needs to have fins that will help with tracking on the turns and improves stability.
You pick a wakeboard by choosing the right weight and length for your body. Any wakeboard retailer will have a size chart to look at.
Your bindings need to be fit your feet securely without pinching your toes or heels.
Next, consider the rocker.
Rocker
The rocker is how the board is curved which is a good indicator of how it will perform on the water. There are 3 main types of rockers: the continuous rocker, 3 stage rocker, and hybrid.
Beginners generally start with a continuous rocker because it is more stable and approaches the wake flatter.
The other types of rockers give you more pop and are better for more advanced riders looking to do aerial tricks.
Wakeboard Rope and Handle
A non-stretch wakeboard rope and handle will attach the rider to the boat. The rope is also called a cable or a line.
Final Thoughts
Wakeboarding is a great skill to learn when you want to do water sports on Arizona lakes. Start with a decent beginner wakeboard, a boat made for wakeboarding, and the right equipment to get you going. Try these basic tips for how to get up and standing on a wakeboard so you can get comfortable enough to try doing turns and tricks.
Check our inventory of wakeboarding boats here or stop by our Phoenix location.