Not to say wakeboarding ever gets boring, but sometimes when you’ve had a lot of time on the water your riding routine can become a bit repetitive. For example, you’ve been out on the boat all day and everyone has taken a few sets. People are feeling a bit tired or slightly lazy, but there are still two hours of daylight and the lake is butter. Of course you want to ride again, but you already rode the best you are going to that day and you have no spark left in you to work on a new trick. This is the ideal opportunity to get creative and play some doubles games. In this wakeboard how to, Shaun Murray and The Boarding School crew show you four ways to have more fun on the water this summer.
Riding doubles is the perfect way to change up your normal riding. Try playing a game of WAKE. The first rider does a trick of his choice, then the second rider must do the exact same trick. If the second rider lands the trick, no “letters” are given and the first rider must do another trick and so on until the second rider falls. When the second rider falls the first time, he is charged a “W.” The first rider can lose the honor of setting the trick if he falls (though he does not earn a letter). If this happens, the riders reverse rolls and the second rider is given the opportunity to set the trick. The first rider then has to replicate the tricks set and earns letters if he falls. This goes back and forth until one rider has fallen enough times to earn all the letters in WAKE. The first rider to spell the word loses.
Another game is to see how deep into your spins you can make it without falling. The first rider to fall loses. Start with a toeside frontside 180. Both riders must land that. Then do a heelside frontside 180, then a switch heelside frontside 180, then a switch toeside frontside 180. If neither rider has fallen, move on to a toeside frontside 360, then a heelside frontside 360, then do both of those switch. Keep adding 180s and move up and up in your spins, both regular and switch, to see who can last the longest. If 540s and 720s are a bit out of your reach, try adding in blind spinning or wrapped spins. This is also a great way to force you to work on spins you normally wouldn’t and help you become a balanced rider, meaning you’re able to spin both ways from both edges.
Have a mini head-to-head with your doubles partner. The first rider must land a line of five tricks to set the bar. The second rider then must land his own line of five tricks. Have your buddies in the boat judge and determine whose line was best. If the second rider wins, the first rider is given a chance to attempt another line to beat the second rider’s line. Go back and forth until one rider’s line is determined unbeatable.
Riding doubles is a great way to get out on the water and share your time behind the boat with a buddy. The first thing I notice when riding doubles is how different my buddy’s tricks look from the angle of riding right beside him. The same tricks you always see your friends do all of a sudden look way cooler because you’re seeing them from a new angle. Consider getting a camera like a GoPro that is really lightweight and easy to hold. Ride alongside your buddy and film his set. Then have him film you. It is a perfect way to see your riding from a different angle and a good way to get you stoked on your tricks again. Seeing the footage will help you further understand the tricks. Also, don’t run into each other.
