Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is a combination of water skiing, snowboarding, and surfing, in which a rider is towed along by a boat while riding a board. This sport was developed in the 1980s, it used to be called skurfing. It was said to be created in Australia and New Zealand.
The wakeboarder or the rider is usually towed by a boat. The rider can also be towed in other ways like closed-course cable systems, winches, personal watercraft, trucks, cars, and all-terrain vehicles. The rider can hop on the board flat and follow the cable; they can also be on the edge of the board so they can move from side to side.
powered wakeboardVarious jumps and other techniques are performed by the riders. They usually do this by riding towards the wake of a boat and launching into the air. The boards used in wakeboarding are usually made of foam, honeycomb, and coated fiber glass. Wakeboarding is usually done in lakes, while others also do this by the beach.
Wakeboarding at the World Games
Wakeboarding was first featured at the 1981 Santa Clara World Games. Then, it featured at subsequent "World Games" competitions, including the 1985 London World Games, the 1989 Karlsruhe World Games, 1993 The Hague World Games, the 1997 Lahti World Games, the 2001 Akita World Games, the 2005 Duisburg World Games, the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games, the 2013 Cali World Games, the 2017 Wroclaw World Games, the 2022 Birmingham World Games, and the 2025 Chengdu World Games.
Waterski and Wakeboard had three disciplines at The World Games 2025 - Cable Wakeboard, Wakeboard Freestyle, and Wake Surf.
Wakeboard Freestyle allows a boat to be used to tow the athlete. However, in Cable Wakeboard, a specially set-up cable pull the riders. The riders experience structures on the course, including ramps, rails, and "A-frames" to expand the creativity of the runs. In these two formats, riders aim to perform a smooth-flowing routine with a wide variety of tricks and jumps.
Here are the medalists who won gold at the end of the 2025 Chengdu Wakeboard event:
| Event | Medal | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Cable Wakeboard | Gold | DESCHAUX Loic | France |
| Men's Wakeboard Freestyle | Gold | BOLLARD Noah | China |
| Men's Wake Surf Skim | Gold | LAMBERT Jett | USA |
| Women's Cable Wakeboard | Gold | RICK Julia | Germany |
| Women's Wakeboard Freestyle | Gold | XU Lu | China |
| Women's Wake Surf Skim | Gold | RUSH Bailey | Canada |
Similar Sports
- Kneeboarding — a participants are pulled along while kneeling on a convex board.
- Waterskiing — riders are pulled along behind a boat skimming atop the water wearing one or two skis.
- Surfing — participants stand on a surfboard, and use the waves for propulsion.
- Wakesurfing — riding the boat wake using a modified surfboard
- Tanker Surfing — surfing the wake of lagre ocean tankers
- Jet Ski Racing — a water sport similar to powerboat racing, in which riders use jet skis to compete.
Related Pages
- There is a push to get wakeboard into the Olympics
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports — a list of every sport from around the world.
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