Wakeskating
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wakeskating is new type of watersport and is an adaptation of wakeboarding that employs a similar design of board manufactured from plywood or from fibreglass. Unlike wakeboarding, the rider is not bound to the board in any way, which gives the sport its own unique challenges. Instead, the top surface of the board is covered with griptape, (in a similar fashion to a skateboard) or a soft, high-traction, foam covering that is kinder to riders in the inevitable crashes. Riders usually wear shoes while riding to afford themselves extra purchase on the board, similar to skateboarding.
Wakeskating is a natural progression of wakeboarding. It is increasingly popular in youth culture across the globe, but is prevalent mainly in its country of origin; the United States. An aspect of wakeskating that draws many aficionados to it, as opposed to wakeboarding, is progression without the need for the large and extremely expensive boats (necessary to create the wake for wakeboarders to achieve maximum air time). An alternative to using wakeboard boats to tow riders is using high powered jet skis. This method of watercraft can provide an adequate tow, however, produce little or no wake. Jetskis are better for shallow water or where water obstacles are available to perform tricks on.
Wakeskating tricks are inherently more technical than wakeboarding. The tricks are based firmly on skateboarding as opposed to snowboarding. Numerous tournaments and competitions exist throughout the world for the sport of wakeskating.
Smaller Rider Owned Companies have started to make their mark on the sport of wakeskating, such as Distortion, Sattelyte Wakeskates and Integrity.
New materials and assembly techniques are continually introduced into the sport of wakeskating. Traditional boards are made of plywood or fiberglass, but a new technology has come out called Tri-Ax Fiberglass reinforcing. A woven fiberglass top sheet is applied. This process helps the board to be more rigid and increases the life of the board (http://www.wakeboardingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=42987).
One type of board is a bi-level wakeskate. It is basically two boards usually made of plywood and/or fiberglass connected in the middle by two brackets. The point of having a bi-level board is that the flex in the top board helps you ollie higher than you could if you had a normal single level board (http://www.360wakeboard.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=5339).
Wakeskates usually size between 100-114 cm (roughly 39-43 inches), which is considerably smaller than a wakeboard. They do not usually have a sharp edge which limits aggressive edging, and reduces the risk of a face-plant.
Wakeskates are manufactured by many of the same companies that produce wakeboards such as CWB, Hyperlite, and Liquid force.
Colby Springer has persistently progressed the sport into what it is today.
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[edit] Board materials
The two materials both have a different feel in the water. If you want a light weight board then you should get a composite board or fiberglass board. The plywood board will ride better (http://www.wakeboardingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=42987).
[edit] Fin Technology
Fins are constructed with three different kinds of materials. The first and original fin material to wakeskating is plastic. This material will bend and crack if it is exposed to the right conditions. When the fin breaks and bends, it loses its performance. Plastic fins can only be molded down to .5 inches in width. Several materials fin manufacturers use are fiberglass and aluminum. Due to the fact that they are hand molded or machined they can be much narrower. The narrow fins will cut down on drag in the water. Aluminum fins are heavier and cost more, but they hold up to the beating that wakeskating can give them. Fiberglass fins are cheaper than aluminum fins, but in time they chip apart. They don’t weigh as much as aluminum fins either (http://www.wakeworld.com/Articles/2002/rightfin.asp).
The length of the fin on your board can vary greatly. Some fins are 5-8.5 inches long. The longer fins are good because, they don’t have to be as tall to get the same surface area in the water. They will track better than a fin that is shorter. Also the long fins work better on rails and ramps because, they are short enough that they will not make a lot of contact with the rail and ramp. Shorter fins must be taller to get the same amount of tracking (http://www.wakeworld.com/Articles/2002/rightfin.asp).
A shallower fin will not track as good as a deeper one. But a deeper fin will have more drag in the water, and it will not release off the wake as fast (http://www.wakeworld.com/Articles/2002/rightfin.asp).
[edit] Getting Up
Deepwater Start
Mitchell Bieberich performs a Deepwater Start
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cabin_and_lake_054.jpg
There are a variety of techniques for getting up on a wakeskate, but they all follow the same basic rules. Orient your body vertical in the water with the board deck under your feet. When the boat starts to pull forward, you will want to bring your feet and the board up in front of you. The pressure of the oncoming water should force the board to stick to your feet. Straighten your arms so that when the boat takes off you will not hurt your arms from the jolt. Your knees should be bent so that you can keep your center of gravity low. If your center of gravity is too high, then you would be pulled over your feet. When you have done all of the previously stated requirements, tell the boat driver to start going. When the boat starts to move, the water will push on the bottom of the wakeskate, forcing your upper body to rise up out of the water. When you have gotten up, turn the board so that it is parallel with the boat, and turn your upper body so that it is perpendicular with the boat (http://www.wakeboardingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=33413).
Dock Start Instead of doing a deepwater start, you can perform a dock start. A dock start is when you jump off of a dock and position a wakeskate under your feet with the rope handle in your hand. The hard part about this is your timing and positioning of the wakeskate beneath your feet. When you land in the water you must bend your knees, otherwise the board will slip out from under you. The hard part about this is your timing and positioning of the wakeskate (http://www.wakeboardingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=33413).
Once Your Up Jumping from one side of the wake to the other is called wake-to-wake air. The first thing that you must do is edge out to the right or the left, as far as you can. Come back about half way to the wake, and then progressively edge toward the wake. Edging is when you use the edge of the board to turn. When you hit the wake, your legs should be rigid, so that they do not absorb the wake. If you do this, you will not get any pop off the wake. Pop enables you to get into the air. Upon take-off, your front leg should be higher than your back leg, so that when the board is in the air, the wind will push the board against your feet. Immediately tuck your feet and knees up. The board will follow. If you get high enough and far enough you will go from wake to wake. The landing is also important. Before you land on the other side of the wake, you need to extend your legs and push the board toward the water. When you land you need to absorb the impact through your knees and keep your weight centered over your feet (http://www.wakeboardingmag.com/article.jsp?ID=33413).
[edit] Winching
Wakeskating, has in recent times become more and more urbanized due to the advent of the "winch" the winch is a mechanical device that holds a spool of rope and pulls the rope in at riding speed. This invention has given wakeskaters the opportunity to ride in places never imagined possible before. Making wakeskating more accessible than ever before. The original winch was the Re-wind winch made by Tony Robinson in 2003 (http://www.winchskating.com/history/index.html). The Grinch Winch is one of the most trusted, premier winch manufacturers Grinch. Winches however are not just a commercial endeavor, some people build their own using plans and forums such as winchskating.com.
Those who construct the winch themselves can expect to spend about $500-600. The main contributing factors of the price of the constructed winch are; the amount of horsepower the engine has, the age and condition of the engine, the length and quality of rope (generally people use anywhere from 200ft of rope to 700ft of rope), the quality of the materials used, such as the metal for the main structure, and another contributing factor in the price of the winch is if you do all the construction and assembly yourself (http://winchskating.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=207).
This progression has led to unique competitions such as Nokia Fise held in Montpellier, France.
[edit] Shoes
The shoes that wakeskate riders wear are similar to skateboarding shoes and can often be used for both. Many wakeskating shoes are designed with quick drying materials and special drainage channels. The drainage channels are a system of holes in the sole and channels through the midsole (http://kampuswakesk8.com/04/Flash.html). Most of the recognizable Skateboard shoe manufacturers are starting to develop shoes for Wakeskaters. Adio has created the Adio Quest Wakeskate Shoe. Some wakeskating shoes are built with an EVA midsole. EVA is Ethylene-vinyl acetate. This polymer is an ideal material for the production of shoes, because it will not crack under stress. EVA is also perfect for the outdoors, because it is not affected by UV radiation. Other applications for EVA are padding in sport equipment (http://www2.dupont.com/Elvax/en_US/). This special lightweight buoyant material is perfect for keeping down the weight of a soaking wet shoe.
