Wakeboarding: The Exciting Sport to Cool Off in the Summer Days

Don’t you just love summer? I’m sure many would say they don’t simply because of the unbearable heat we have here in the land Down Under, considering we’ve had the heat records smashed in Sydney and NSW not more than a month ago. As much as I can barely stand it myself, it’s no reason not to be happy for summer days and make the most of them while we have them.

Over a period of time finding it annoying to have thongs melting whenever out and about and not being able to fall asleep without the help of an air conditioner, I’ve come to the conclusion I’m still a summer person despite all this and I wasn’t going to let anything ruin my fun. These days mean we’re all given an opportunity to head to the beach more often and whenever not working on the tan sunbathing, there’s always the refreshing water to go for a swim. This year I’ve decided to make way for more adventure and excitement, so I traded swimming for wakeboarding.

As a combination of surfing, snowboarding and water skiing, wakeboarding is a water sport where all the fun happens on the surface, doing the flips and turns while being towed by a motorboat. I didn’t pay much attention to the equipment because I was told the helmet is important only as soon as I started with the flips, so being a beginner it didn’t make much of a difference since I was just learning how to hold on tight and get in the proper wakeboarding position.

After realising my interest in the sport was becoming more of a passion and seeing a wetsuit and boots were essential (not having the right boots makes for inconvenient wakeboarding), I did a little equipment related search and got myself fitting Jobe boots and a wetsuit. Wearing boots that aren’t your size and not having a wetsuit on when wakeboarding through cold waters can really ruin your whole experience – take it from me, I almost gave up on this incredible sport because of these rookie mistakes.

Having Jobe boots for a firm stand, with the much needed ankle kidneys for ankle support and stretch panels for maximum movements, and the wetsuit to keep me dry, I also got the perfect helmet and was ready to tackle the next step – the flips. Since there are all sorts of manoeuvres, front flips and backflips, it’s important to practice as much as necessary until you feel comfortable being upside down.

I can’t say I’m good in wakeboarding yet, because I’m far from not needing more practice but it all gets easier as soon as you include more of it in your busy lifestyle. If you’re up for some more exciting time at the beach, then don’t exclude wakeboarding from your hobbies.