Wakeboard is becoming more and more popular every year. And no wonder, because it's not only fun with a thrill, comparable to that of extreme sports. It is also becoming more common because there are more and more places to practice it.
Learning wakeboardingis not as difficult as it seems. Wake instructors recommend this discipline as an introduction to learning other water sports, because it helps to get used to the board.
Check what the wakeboard is and how much the sport costs.
Contents:
- What is a wakeboard?
- What does learning wakeboarding look like?
- Who is the wakeboard suitable for?
- How to choose a wakeboard board?
- How much does wakeboarding cost?
What is a wakeboard?
Wakeboardis a combination of surfing, snowboarding and water skiing. It consists in sliding on the board on the surface of the water, holding the stick attached to the rope of the lift or, which happens less often, to the motorboat.
Wakeboard came to Poland from the United States, and more specifically from Florida, considered the cradle of this sport. Some are of the opinion that that is why it won crowds of fans so quickly, because it was a summer alternative to snowboarding in winter. It is also important that the wakeboard is quite simple and its instructors say that it won't take more than a day to learn the basics.
What does learning wakeboarding look like?
You take off from a pier or directly from the water, then the hard part is staying on the board. The first lessons are best taken with an instructor who will tell you how to arrange your arms, when to straighten and when to bend your legs, how to properly transfer your body weight on the board to swim and not fall into the water every now and then. After the first lesson, the rest is just a matter of practice and experience gained with each subsequent hour on the water.
Who is the wakeboard suitable for?
Wakeboarding is a sport for everyone with general good he alth, and elementary physical fitness is also required. It is recommended that children under 9-10 years of age do not engage in sports, as one side of the body is often loaded and this may lead to asymmetry.
Before starting classes, you should do a short warm-up,to minimize the risk of injury. However, wakeboard instructors claim that in the initial stage of learning, sport is safe, injuries occur rather in people who swim at a more advanced level and perform various tricks, stunts or use the so-called obstacles, e.g. jumps or ramps.
For added safety in the water, wakeboarders should wear a helmet and a life or buoyancy vest. To practice this sport, it would be good to swim at least to a basic degree, but it is not a necessary condition to start your adventure with this sport. However, you must inform the instructor about it before the start of the classes.
How to choose a wakeboard board?
In wakeboarding, the most important thing is the board. At the initial stage of learning, you can borrow it - it is best when the instructor selects it according to the student's body weight.
If you decide to buy, you need to pay attention to the length of the board, the weight of the wakeboarder is the most important factor here. The heavier it is, the longer the board has to be chosen. However, do not overdo it the other way, because a board that is too long will be more difficult to control.
Another aspect that needs attention is its width. A narrower wakeboarding board allows you to glide over the water faster, a wider one is better for taking off and landing gently after taking off. You also need to choose the right shoes for the board (closed or with open toes).
How much does wakeboarding cost?
Learning wakeboarding is great fun, but you have to take into account the costs. Depending on the center, 15 minutes of swimming with the rope attached to the ski lift costs about PLN 25-45, an hour about PLN 45-70, a day pass about PLN 100-200. The price may also vary when we consider whether we sail from Monday to Friday or on weekends, and it may also depend on whether we reserve the entire lift exclusively. The board is usually rented for free as part of the purchased lesson, but sometimes you have to pay extra for the equipment (board with bindings, wetsuit, helmet, buoyancy vest), i.e. about PLN 5-15.
If we catch the wakeboard bug and want to buy our own equipment, we have to take into account the costs of approx. PLN (board, bindings, vest). However, it is worth investing in it, because there are more and more places to practice wakeboarding from year to year. They are usually located in large cities (e.g. Warsaw, Poznań, Łódź, Tricity, Wrocław) and their surroundings. And we are not talking about single centers, because in the vicinity of Warsaw (up to 20-30 km) there are several professional places for wakeboarding.