How to Get Air on a Wakeboard

Oh yeah, this is why you learned to wakeboard: air. Flying. Start low and work your way higher - you can't jump if you get hurt. Once you get the fundamentals down pat, then you can start adding tweaks and grabs.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Life Jackets
• Ski Boats
• Wakeboard
• Water Ski Ropes
• Wet Suits

Bunny Hop

1. Ride directly behind the boat.

2. Lean back slightly to slow down and load the rope with tension.

3. Bend your knees and push down on the tail of your board.

4. Jump and pull your knees up beneath you as you hop into the air - an action similar to an ollie in skateboarding. The resistance of the water on your tail as you push down, combined with the tension of the rope, will fling you into the air. Pulling your legs up adds extra height.

5. Land with your weight only slightly back.

6. Practice for more height and greater comfort. Keep the whole action one smooth motion.

7. Time your hops off bumps in the water.

Wake Air

8. Learn to bunny hop first. You'll catch some air naturally just by crossing the wake with speed, but combining the skills is when you really start flying.

9. Start outside the wake.

10. Bend your knees and lean against the boat to load the line with tension as you start cutting toward the wake.

11. Cut quickly toward the wake, increasing rope tension as you go.

12. Keep cutting until you hit the lip of the wake - you want to keep the rope loaded until you're actually in the air.

13. Pop a bunny hop at the very lip of the wake and fly into the air.

14. Pull your knees up and level the board off in the air for maximum height.

15. Land and keep riding.

Tips & Warnings

• A common mistake is to release the line tension before you actually hit the wake. Avoid doing this - keep the line loaded until you're in the air.
• More speed and bigger wakes equal more air.
• Always wear a life jacket and observe proper boating safety when you wakeboard.

Who Can Help:

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on 8/8/2006 When crossing the wake, use your heel or toe edge (depending on which side of the wake you are on). Also, really lean in hard. If you have fins for the wakeboard - use them.

on 6/30/2006 It's important to keep your balance all the way through the jump and landing. Make sure you don't lean away from the wake (perpendicular from the boat's line of travel) too much as you approach and jump. You'll end up rolling that direction in the air, and that makes it way tough to land. Keep your rope handle pulled in near your hip as well, which will help you keep this balance. All this will help you land upright and keep you on the water!

on 11/22/2005 Make sure when cutting that you always keep pressure on your back foot or you'll get the front of the board caught underneath the wake. When popping off the wake, you need to have as much tension as you can to get more air. Don't let one fall stop you from trying, it'll come with practice!