Wakeboarding and Water Skiing
Desert Oasis
According to Wikipedia "Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard, is towed behind a motorboat across its wake. A hallmark of wakeboarding is the attempted performance of midair tricks. Wakeboarding was developed from a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques." The equipment consists of the board which is a few feet long typically made out of fiberglass and the bindings, which are basically boots that are fixed to the board and help keep the riders feet secured to the board. Even thought there are many different types of boats that you can wakeboard behind, companies have started building boats specifically for wakeboarding. These boats have a tower that spans over the boat, which improves the performance of the boarder.
Surprisingly there are numerous lakes across the state. The majority of the recreational lakes can be found in the Phoenix area and the cities that surround it.
The most popular lakes for wakeboarding in Arizona are:
Once wakeboarding started to gain more popularity, boat companies started to build their boats with features specific to wakeboarders needs. Since wakeboarding involves more tricks that are performed in the air, it is important that the boat creates are larger wake (wave created by boat). Boat companies now offer ballast or tanks that can be filled with lake water to help produce a bigger wake. Some companies have even designed a wedge that will pull down the back of the boat in order to generate a larger wake. Wakeboarding boats can also have cruise control, making it easier to operate the boat. Another feature of most wakeboard boats are multiple speakers mounted onto the tower, so the people on the boat as well as the rider can be entertained by music. Some of the top wakeboard boat manufacturers are Malibu, Mastercraft, Tige and Axis.
