Wakeboarding 101

In 1998 there was a new sport I wanted to try out. It was called wakeboarding–an extreme sport stemming from trick skiing and snowboarding. It was such a guy thing back then that I felt the need to call on the fearless daredevil in me to prove that chicks could learn it, too. Hardly anybody knew how to do it except my brother Paolo and his friends who had brought in some of the gear needed–like boards, bindings (the little boots you stick your foot in) and vests. I decided to give it a try.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the sport, think of water skiing behind a boat but using a miniature surfboard instead of two skis. Unfortunately we did not have a speedboat at the time so we got resourceful and used a jet ski instead. Getting up on the board is the hardest part, especially if you have no background in water skiing, surfing, skateboarding or snowboarding.

I pulled myself up, got my face planted down. I was yanked in all directions and it was only after 11 attempts that morning when I finally got up! It was a grueling experience, totally brutal! I have never used so many of my muscles at one time.

Yet, for those who are getting into it now, there are more instructors to teach them. When I tried it, nobody really knew what to do.

Wakeboarding is very popular in the US and other parts of the world like Australia, Europe and Asian countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. There you will find many of the world’s top boarders like Darin Shapiro, Scott Byerly and Shaun Murray executing all their inverted flips and grabs and quite possibly creating newer, more challenging combinations to show off during competition, with tricks like the tantrum, KGBs, scarecrows, tootsie rolls, backroll and raley. It’s considered an extreme sport – a hybrid sport born of the desire to turn something recreationally fun into something made for Evil Knievel’s spawn.

It comes as no surprise that Filipinos would take to these extreme games, because aren’t we all a little nuts once in a while? We have a habit of jumping out of buses and jeeps while they are still moving. We teach our kids how to dive for fish without scuba tanks, we treat our highways like obstacle courses and our road motto is "as long as we don’t crash, we’re ok!"

Sounds appealing right? So, now you’re probably wondering how you can develop your wakeboarding skills and what are the things you’ll need. First of all, you’ll obviously need a body of water. Preferably a calm lake. It would also be good if you have a speedboat to pull you or better yet, a specialized wakeboard boat that is designed to give you a well-formed wake used for jumping. Now if you don’t have one, that’s OK too because many enthusiasts benefit from cable parks and lucky for us, we have a great cable park at Lago de Oro in Calatagan, Batangas. It’s about two hours away from the city and is every wakeboarder’s dream come true.

Another good thing about going to a cable park like Lago is that there are instructors present there who can help beginners get up and improve their skills. Next you’ll need a board, but may I suggest you test different ones before purchasing one. Boards come in various forms and sizes that cater to different body sizes and styles of riding. Before investing in a board of your own, know what kind of board suits your style. Your board will come with detachable fins, which you can play around with and change later on, but the boots you see on them are sold separately. They are called bindings, and like the board, they come in various designs to suit various needs.

So you’ve got the board, the bindings and the vest and you’re starting to feel like a true-blue boarder – but wait! You will never look the part until you dress the part and that’s as easy as buying a new pair of shorts–board shorts, not just any pair of athletic shorts you choose. God forbid they be basketball shorts or even worse – ball-huggers! When it comes to clothing, board shorts are pretty much all you need and are a definite must have. I can’t emphasize this enough especially for women. Bikinis are cute, go ahead and wear them while boarding, but don’t forget to wear board shorts on top.

Now you’re all set and ready to go. Don’t forget to pack your guts and leave your fears behind. Expect to have a lot of fun and prepare for a workout like none other!

Because they’ve had a lot of wakeboarding experience and have been living and breathing this sport for years now, I thought it would be cool to interview my own brother Paolo, and another guy who is pretty much like a brother to me too, Mumph Ruiz, on the tricks they’ve learned, what it takes to get good and the upcoming wakeboard competition.

Bianca: So guys, you’ve both been wakeboarding for years now. What got you into this sport?

Paolo: I’ve always been into water sports. I used to jet ski all the time and did a lot of freestyle jet skiing. Basically, freestyle is just doing all sorts of tricks with jet skis. Naturally, I fell into wakeboarding because I liked doing tricks and getting inverted.

Mumph: My love for alternative sports. I started with jet skiing as well, skateboarding and I tried knee boarding too. I also tried snow boarding when I was living in the States and when I got back, wake boarding was growing here so that was good for me.

What tricks can you do?

P: I personally prefer to go big and do big spins and grab them. I have some flips in my bag of tricks but don’t really ride enough to improve on them or progress to the level I would like to.

M: I don’t really go for inverts cause it’s not my style of riding. I do more of the grabs and spins or a combination of both. I try to make simple grabs look a bit more stylish by tweaking it or boning it.

Really? How often do you guys practice for this?

P: Not nearly as often as I’d like, maybe about once a week if I’m lucky.

M: I had more time during summer but now I only get to go during weekends.

Is there anything you’re currently trying to perfect?

P: My 540s. Behind the boat, I’m trying to get my toeside tricks down like my Crow and Toeside Fronts.

Sounds complicated. Have you ever gone through formal training?

P: Yeah, I’ve been to a camp in Texas and one in Australia.

So far, what was the hardest trick you’ve learned to do?

M: In the beginning, the hardest thing was trying to get up on the rails, which were obstacles we put up, because we did not have any professional trainers helping us. We just studied videos. Getting over the mental block of the fear of hurting yourself. Another thing that is often underestimated is the way you pop off the wake properly.

P: I’d have to say my first back roll was hard. It took me countless tries to get it and when I finally did, it wasn’t even the proper way. Didn’t really have anyone correcting me or telling me how to do it so yeah, I’d have to say that was tough.

So that is the most challenging thing you’ve faced with regard to the sport?

P: Yes, that and getting over injuries! I guess learning new tricks is always challenging for me because I don’t really have anyone I can ask to help me. I pretty much have to figure things out on my own and in the process bang myself up. My buddy JV Borromeo is pushing himself quite a bit now and has learned things I can’t do so that’s good. He can teach me stuff and I can teach him stuff.

Does the sport require some level of fitness in order to do it properly even if it’s just for recreational purposes?

P: I think so. The more fit and conditioned your body is, the less prone to hurting yourself you are. Since I started working out, I have felt better about my boarding, been able to ride longer and have more strength for doing tricks.

Ok, I know you’ve gotten hurt a couple of times, what are the worst kind of accidents that can happen?

P: The usual suspects are ankle and knee injuries. I won’t even begin to mention all that wakeboarding has done to me. It’s a surprise I’m still in the sport. I guess it’s passion and commitment to the sport that keeps me riding.

What does it take to become good at the sport?

M: Dedication, commitment, exercise and enthusiasm!

Where are the best places to wakeboard here in the country? Is there any place where one can go to learn?

M: If you have a boat – Caliraya; if not, the Lago de Oro in Calatagan, Batangas. You can learn from other riders in Lago.

It’s definitely growing more and more popular here. How big is it around Asia now?

M: Growing very big due to the recent Asian X-Games where the sport is featured. It was only then different Asian riders became popular. Very popular in Thailand where there are many cable parks and in Malaysia as well.

P: I think it really grew in popularity here because of the cable park in Batangas.

Lago de Oro right? I heard there will be a wakeboarding competition there soon.

P: Yes, there will be. It’s on August 9, Saturday. At 9:30-11 a.m. there will be time to practice and soon after, a cable park pro rider will do a demo; after lunch is the competition.

Who will be competing?

P: Well, I’m not exactly sure but we are going to have a Women’s Open Division, a Men’s Beginner and Men’s Intermediate Division.

Sounds like it will be fun. Do you think that this is a sport Filipinos can compete in internationally? I mean, basketball is like our national sport and we have some good professional players but put them up against players from the US and we lose out in height….

M: Definitely! Provided that he has the time to practice often, I think Filipinos can be really good at this. Their bone structure makes them lighter, which can help them with their flips.

P: I’m not sure if we have any advantage over other riders, but with enough time and practice, I don’t see why we can’t be at their level someday. That’s a lot of practice and TONS of time to spare!

But many Filipinos do have that luxury! How far do you want to go with wakeboarding?

M: I just want to improve my riding. I’m not really aiming to compete internationally, but it would really be a nice experience!

P: I wanted to ride in, like, the Asian tour, or something similar but I don’t really have the time to practice enough for events like that. Hopefully, if all goes well with this event, we can affiliate our event with the Asian tour and see where we go from there.

And finally, what tips would you give to beginners?

P: Just get out there and have fun. Know you capabilities and never try to do something you’re not ready for. Wear a vest always.

M: Expect that you’ll have fun, know your stance and keep your handle in the proper position. Learn edging, which helps you turn left & right and relax.