Imagine popping an ollie or riding a rail on water! Kidzworld checks out the boards, shoes and other gear you need to start wakeskating.
Wakeskating - What Is It?
Wakeskating is a cool combo of wakeboarding and skateboarding. Wakeskaters ride on a wakeskate while being towed behind a boat. The main difference between wakeboarding and wakeskating is that there are no bindings on a wakeskate. Riders wear shoes and balance on the board in much the same way as a skateboarder rides. Because there are no bindings on a wakeskate, the sport is much more difficult to learn than wakeboarding. Just like skateboarding, the most important trick to learn on a wakeskate is the ollie.
Wakeskating - The Skates
Wakeskates are slightly smaller than a wakeboard and are made out of either wood or a lightweight foam. The wood skates tend to have a better feel while the foam ones are lighter. The surface of a wakeskate also comes in two varieties - grip tape or foam. Foam is probably a better choice if you're new to the sport, as your less likely to get serious scrapes on your feet on a foam surface. You can also get a wakeskate that is either flat or concave (slightly curved). A concave skate is better for doing tricks but if you're just starting out, you're better off getting a flat board which is easier to control and balance on.
Wakeskating - The Shoes
You can pretty much wear any pair of sneakers for wakeskating - but you're better off wearing something that's lightweight, which won't hold a lot of water. There are a few pairs of specially designed wakeskate shoes on the market but they're hard to find since wakeskating is still a pretty new sport.
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