Did you spend your summer out on the water? Did you spend hours expanding your skill at wakeboarding and wakesurfing? Water sports are extremely common activities during the summer months, but tend to fall off in terms of participation during the colder, winter months. If you live in a part of the country with longer winters, it could be many months until you get back on your wakesurfing board. Fortunately, there are ways to practice and expand your skill even during the winter months.
Keep up with daily exercise
The good thing about water sports is that they are an entertaining way to stay in shape. If you are spending hours on the day practicing wakesurfing and other water activities, you are also increasing your daily exercise. If you take the entire winter off, it is likely that you will feel out of shape come summer. To prepare yourself to pick up where you left off, stick with a daily exercise routine. Make sure you change up your exercise routine and attempt to work on the same muscles that you use during your favorite water sporting activities.
Learn the sport from a different perspective
Learning a sport from a different perspective can also be very beneficial in increasing your skill. Learn about the history of wakesurfing. Learn which boating and water conditions are best for improving your skill. Research different wave control surf systems and how the surf systems for boats affect the wakesurfing skill. Evaluate how minimal boat accessories can change your wakesurfing ability. For example, wakeboarding ropes are usually longer than wakesurfing ropes. The ideal wakeboard rope is between 52 and 78 feet. Additionally, wakeboards themselves are usually smaller than wakesurf boards. The typical wakeboard is between 130 and 147 centimeters in length (4.2 to 4.8 feet). Truly understanding the history and minor details of the wakesurfing sport can increase your skill more than you could imagine.
Connect with other wakesurfers
It is very likely that there is a large group of wakesurfers or fellow water sport enthusiasts in your area that are also waiting for summer to come back. Connect with these water sport enthusiasts. You already have a lot in common and when summer does come back, you will already have a group of peers that you can get back on the water with. Other water sport people might also have additional suggestions for improving your skill outside of the water.
Get in the water
You will find that many local gyms, schools, or hotels have unused indoor pools. Many of these establishments will offer guest use for a small fee. Although you cannot specifically practice your wakesurfing skill in a smaller pool, it can be helpful to get back in the water. As you learn to master new wakesurfing skills, you will be in the water a lot. You will have to thread, float, and swim long distances. The more comfortable that you are with the water, the easier it will be to learn these new skills. Daily swimming during the winter can also help you to identify swimming areas that you need to work on including your ability to tread or if you require any special swimming equipment to safely spend long periods of time in the water.
Wakeboarding, wakesurfing, and other water sports are extremely common all over the U.S. In 2016, 13.8% if the U.S. population ages six and up participated in water sports. The problem, however is that many of these water sport participants live in cold winter states. The upcoming cold winter does not mean that you have to put your water sport on hold. Try any one of these tips to further your skill and prepare yourself for improvement come summer.