A Brief History of Wakeboarding
The origin of wakeboarding has long been shrouded in mystery. The fact is, no one really knows where and how wakeboarding got it’s start. It seems the best answer is that wakeboarding started organically, as a logical progression from skiing and surfing. In the late 60’s water skiing was having its heyday, and nothing was off limits. Groups of skiers got into the mind frame that you could ride anything behind a boat.
If an object displaced water, they tried to ski on it. So it was not uncommon to see people riding on table tops, snow skis, tennis shoes, and naturally -- surfboards. Little did these riders know that they were in the process of starting the next generation of water sports and spawning the sport that would become wakeboarding.
As surfing behind a boat became more and more popular, people started to adjust the setup to include straps to keep them bound to the board. However, it wasn’t until 1985 when someone decided to mass produce a surfboard with straps designed specifically for riding behind a boat. This was affectionately called the “skurfer,” aptly named for being a cross over of a ski and a surfboard. Skurfers were incredibly buoyant and quite frankly, very difficult to maneuver, but at the time it allowed riders to use the wake in ways they never thought possible. By 1990 the design was enhanced to be thinner and lighter allowing for better maneuverability. It was also this point in time, when Herb O’Brien started the wakeboard company, Hyperlite, which is now one of the largest most popular brands on the market.
Hyperlite pioneered thinner lighter boards which featured neutral buoyancy so riders could easily start from deep water. At this point, wakeboards were still shaped like surfboards, but just a few years later in 1993, the twin tip design was introduced by Jimmy Redmon. This symmetrical design was not only more maneuverable, but could also be ridden in both directions. This design still stands as the “standard” for the wakeboarding industry.
In the 90's wakeboarding started its transition from recreational hobby to a full fledged competition sport. In one decade over 200 organizations were formed on local and national levels to create and sponsor wakeboard competitions. Most notable are the WWA Pro Tour, and the International Wakeboard Tour. Throughout this time, countless new tricks were invented, perfected, and repeated.
It was during this time too, that ski boat manufacturers started to take an interest in wakeboarding. Upon seeing how popular the sport was becoming, boat fabricators started making boats geared directly to wakeboarders. And as time advanced, boats began to come standard with wakeboard centric features like wake towers, ballast tanks, and wake shaping plates. In fact, in 1996 Mastercraft released the first ever X-Star, which has come to be the most coveted boat in the entire sport of wakeboarding.
The history of This timeline chronicles the major events that have defined and contributed to making wakeboarding what it is today.
If you have a major wakeboarding event that you feel should be added to this list then please feel free to email me and let me know.
If an object displaced water, they tried to ski on it. So it was not uncommon to see people riding on table tops, snow skis, tennis shoes, and naturally -- surfboards. Little did these riders know that they were in the process of starting the next generation of water sports and spawning the sport that would become wakeboarding.
As surfing behind a boat became more and more popular, people started to adjust the setup to include straps to keep them bound to the board. However, it wasn’t until 1985 when someone decided to mass produce a surfboard with straps designed specifically for riding behind a boat. This was affectionately called the “skurfer,” aptly named for being a cross over of a ski and a surfboard. Skurfers were incredibly buoyant and quite frankly, very difficult to maneuver, but at the time it allowed riders to use the wake in ways they never thought possible. By 1990 the design was enhanced to be thinner and lighter allowing for better maneuverability. It was also this point in time, when Herb O’Brien started the wakeboard company, Hyperlite, which is now one of the largest most popular brands on the market.
Hyperlite pioneered thinner lighter boards which featured neutral buoyancy so riders could easily start from deep water. At this point, wakeboards were still shaped like surfboards, but just a few years later in 1993, the twin tip design was introduced by Jimmy Redmon. This symmetrical design was not only more maneuverable, but could also be ridden in both directions. This design still stands as the “standard” for the wakeboarding industry.
In the 90's wakeboarding started its transition from recreational hobby to a full fledged competition sport. In one decade over 200 organizations were formed on local and national levels to create and sponsor wakeboard competitions. Most notable are the WWA Pro Tour, and the International Wakeboard Tour. Throughout this time, countless new tricks were invented, perfected, and repeated.
It was during this time too, that ski boat manufacturers started to take an interest in wakeboarding. Upon seeing how popular the sport was becoming, boat fabricators started making boats geared directly to wakeboarders. And as time advanced, boats began to come standard with wakeboard centric features like wake towers, ballast tanks, and wake shaping plates. In fact, in 1996 Mastercraft released the first ever X-Star, which has come to be the most coveted boat in the entire sport of wakeboarding.
The history of This timeline chronicles the major events that have defined and contributed to making wakeboarding what it is today.
- 1940 - 1960 Surfing was popularized behind boats.
- 1985 - The first Skurfer was developed by a surfer named Tony Finn in San Diego, CA.
- 1987 - The First Wakeboard Tournament
- 1989 - The World Wakeboarding Association is founded by Jimmy Redmon.
- 1990 - First Skurfer championships were televised by ESPN.
- 1996 - Mastercraft boat company releases the X Star, a dedicated wakeboard boat which has continued to push the limits of the sport.
- 1996 - Wakeboarding was added as an event to the second annual X Games on ESPN.
- 1997 - Darin Shapiro Lands a double front flip on wakeboard, which he coined the “speedball.”
- 2006 - Danny Harf lands the first 1080 spin on wakeboard.
- 2012 - MTV debuts a reality TV show which follows the brothers Phil and Bob Soven, both professional wakeboarders. The show is of course titled -- Wake Brothers.
If you have a major wakeboarding event that you feel should be added to this list then please feel free to email me and let me know.
