DailyWake

The wakeboard season is approaching, and along with it comes a handful of competitions.  Along with the Pro events that take place all around the world, there is almost certainly an amateur competition in your area (your “area” might be across the street or across a few states, depending on how large your local wakeboard populace is).  As many of you know, our sister site LearnWake.com gives our members all sorts of wakeboarding instructional videos, tips, etc.  They even have a bulletin board there where professional coaches will answer your questions.  One question that seems to be popping up on LearnWake is “How to prepare for a wakeboard competition.”  I figured I’d roll this answer into a DailyWake post, so everyone can get a little insight on these strategies.

• Know your lake. You should definitely scout out the lake that you’ll be riding at.  Hopefully you’ve seen a competition at this location before, or better yet, you’ve ridden in a competition there.  Knowing your lake, or better yet, how the lake will be setup is advantageous, because then you can figure out how many tricks you’ll be able to fit in your trick pass (a trick pass is going from one end of the lake, to the next…  Traditional competitions, usually go down the lake and back, giving you 2 trick passes total.  Some people call trick passes “trick runs”).  A typical trick pass is usually about 5 tricks long.  The amount of tricks you can do in a pass varies based on the length (distance) of the trick pass and the types of tricks you will be attempting.  One other key element is the depth of the lake.  The deeper the lake, the bigger the wake.  If you are in a very shallow lake (under 5 feet), you will have a much more mellow/small wake, than you would if the depth of the lake was 10 feet or deeper.  Usually if the lake is above 10 feet in depth, there isn’t an issue at all.  But if you are advanced enough to be pulling off inverts in your pass, you will notice a difference if the lake depth is really shallow.  This leads us to our next point…
• Know the wake. The physics of wakeboarding combines several elements.  At a competition, you can have absolute control over some of the elements, like what board/bindings/rope you ride, but you have no control over the wake.  Unlike when you are at home, you don’t have the option of filling another ballast bag, or adjusting your weighting system.  Even more importantly, you don’t have control over what type of boat your ride behind at a competition.  Finding out what boat will be pulling you, should be relatively easy.  Usually you can find the brand of the boat listed somewhere on the sponsor-list for the event.  If that fails, you can always call the event organizers and ask them for information.  Obviously each boat puts out a different wake, and if you know someone that has a similar boat to the one you’ll be competing behind, it might not be a bad idea to try to hit them up for a quick pull, just so you’ve experienced it.  Now, I don’t want to scare anyone into thinking that you are screwed if you don’t get an opportunity to ride behind the same model as the competition boat.  In reality, you could very easily train behind a Malibu, and enter a competition that’s being pulled by a Supra, and do very well and maybe not even notice that big of a difference.  I am just saying that if you can create the opportunity to get a pull behind the same type of boat that is pulling the comp, then that is obviously a slight advantage (even if it is just mental, knowing that you’ve ridden behind that boat before).
• How to practice. Usually repetition is key here.  Put yourself in the competition mindset…have fun with it.  If you know that you don’t get a warm-up at the comp, then don’t do one when training.  Put yourself in the right mindframe.  You’ll quickly find that comps are 90% mental.  If you can help practice that mental aspect by putting yourself in the moment while practicing, then you can make great strides towards your competition performances.  Practicing for the unknown is always helpful.  If it is windy and rough on your normal riding side of the lake, then just deal with it.  If it is windy at the comp, they aren’t going to reschedule it, so you need be prepared for anything that could happen.  Riding in rough water is an easy key to victory.  Many riders never ride in rough riding conditions, and when they come across undesirable conditions at a competition, they crumble.  Riders that are familiar with all types of riding conditions really shine when things go south weather-wise at a competition.  Also, you never know what to expect as far as boat speeds go at a comp.  Even the best drivers in the world can be a little bit off-speed at times.  Practicing your pass a slightly varied speeds will help you out, and give you confidence if the speed isn’t “perfect” in the competition.
• Creating a trick pass. There are several ways to go about creating your trick pass, and all of them are completely subjective.  Some people just let it flow.  They have a few tricks in their head that they want to do, and besides those tricks, they just do whatever feels right at the time.  This soulful approach is neither right or wrong, but usually not in the best interest for amateurs.  While pros have so many tricks up their sleeves that they are able to get away with this approach, lesser riders usually need to adhere to more structure when creating their passes.  Creating trick passes is half art and half formula.  Several ingredients go into making the perfect trick pass recipe.  First off, you need to know two important things… how many falls do I get, and how long is the trick pass.  Assuming you get 2 falls, you need to plan for this accordingly.  [OK, there is no right or wrong way here, I am just giving my opinion as to the best way to construct your typical trick pass].  While it might seem like a good idea to start off with your hardest trick to “get it out of the way”, I would advise against it.  The reason why is because if you fall on it, you now have 1 fall under your belt, and 1 more fall eliminates you totally.  You’ll soon realize that when you are in a “one fall and your’re out” situation, the pressure really starts to kick in.  All-of-the-sudden, your most simple tricks seem hard as you start to tense up.  I think a good first trick is something that you know you can land.  You haven’t gotten a chance to hit the wake yet, so why not do something you know you can land no matter what type of wake it is.  Surviving that first trick is a huge boost.  You now have hit the wake and you should almost immediately draw an opinion of it.  Was it big, small, steep, mellow, etc.  Besides information that you just obtained, you’ve also boosted your confidence, which goes a long way.  So where do you put your hardest trick then?  Well, lots of times at the end of your first pass is a pretty good spot to throw it.  Usually when you fall, you actually miss out on throwing a trick or two, while the boat gets back up to speed.  For example, if you fall in the middle of your pass, you might only get an opportunity to throw one more trick in that pass, because the boat will take a little while to get to 22 mph (or whatever speed you ride).  So, if you fall at the end of your first pass, you won’t miss any part of your trick pass.  Usually throwing it at the very end of your second pass is not ideal.  The reason why is because if you get double-ups, usually your ride will end if you fall too late in the second pass, even if it is your first fall.  If you don’t get those points on your double-up that might hurt your overall score.  The placement of your tricks is also greatly affected by the other tricks in your pass.  You should try to make the whole pass flow as smoothly as possible.  For example, if you do an Air Raley, you will most likely land out in the flats…  So your next trick should be a trick that you usually start from out in the flats.  If you do a trick that is wake to wake, then your following trick should be a short-approach trick.  This not only helps the flow of your trick pass, but it also will allow you to fit more tricks in overall.  While there is nothing wrong with having to edge out for a trick, or edge in to reset your edge, both maneuvers hurt your flow and waste time.  When picking tricks for your pass, make sure to try to show as much of a variety as possible.  Also, there is nothing wrong with utilizing some mathematical logic when creating your tricks passes.  You trick passes should be challenging, but not unobtainable.  Think about it this way in a trick pass, lets say you are planning on throwing 5 tricks.  3 of the tricks you land everytime (100%), no probelms.  1 trick you land probably 3 out of 4 times (75%) and the other you land about half the time (50%).  Well when you multiply those together (100% x 100% x 100% x 75% x 50%) you get 38%.  So you only have a 38% chance of landing that trick run…  The odds are against you my friend!  Also, please note, that the added pressure of the competition plus all of the added uncontrollable elements of the comp will take that number down even further.  Let’s just say, if you land a trick 75% of the time at home, you might only land it 65% of the time in competition.  So what percentage of risk should you take?  Well, that is up to you…  Do you want to try to be the hero, or do you want to just survive?  If you are in a multi-round competition, you should obviously start of with a low-risk pass to try to advance to the next round (unless you are outmatched, and you have to pull out your big stuff early).  Then in your final round you should step up the difficulty a little more.  I would say you should be somewhere near 50-75%.  Also, you don’t need to remember every single trick in your run.  While it does help to stay as structured as possible, always keep a few fallback tricks in your head that you could throw at any time.  That way if you forget your pass, you can always throw these tricks, and then regroup your thoughts at the end of your pass.  Another reason why you should have fallbacks is because sometimes your psyche might get shaken out there, and it is nice to know that you always have a few tricks to fall back on if doubt is creeping into your head.  Also, make sure to get someone in your boat to time your trick pass.  When you get to the competition, you should be able to watch the other riders, and time the boat’s trick pass.  This will let you know if you are going to have enough time, or too much time in your trick pass.
• At the event. Well, you already know about timing the duration of the boat trick run, but there are also some other things you can do to help you out.  First off, remember that this is all just for fun.  This is not a life or death situation.  The more relaxed you are, the better off you’ll be.  Many riders get themselves all worked up over nothing.  If you are feeling anxiety, do something to get your mind off of things, like socializing with your friends.  It’s not a bad idea to think about your trick pass while waiting for your time to come, but don’t obsess over it.  If you are there ina  competitive nature, then obviously watch the other riders (or as many of them as you can) in your heat.  You should soon start to realize where your pass fits in, and what you need to do.
• “Hey, your up next.” Those are the words you hear.  Immediately you know if you are nervous or not.  There is no faking it, or lying to yourself, if you are nervous, you will now officially know.  If you are nervous, think back to this article.  Think about what I am getting ready to say…  You are in a  wakeboard competition.  Who cares.  It’s almost stupid if you think about it.  Why get nervous?  If you fall it’s not like people are going to boo you, or throw tomatoes at you.  I think a big part of it comes from wanting respect from your fellow riders.  Well, to be honest, many of the riders aren’t even watching you, and the ones that are watching just want to see what they have to do to win.  If you screw up, they aren’t thinking, man that guy sucks…  They are thinking about what they need to do to win.  Basically you falling probably didn’t leave an impression on them one way or the other.  I’ve been in a ton of competitions, and I’ve never thought a guy sucked because he fell.  I’m too busy concentrating on what the best run that I’ve witnessed so far was, and figuring out what I need to do to accomplish whatever I’m trying to accomplish.
• On the water. OK, you are on the water what do you do?  Well, you do your trick run…  remember the one you’ve been practicing?  The funny thing is 9 times out of 10, it will not go how you prepared.  You’ll either miss a trick, change a trick, fall or something else.  So be prepared for that.  Just like meeting some for the first time, when you hit that wake for the first time you’ll have an impression.  Just like with relationships, the more times you meet, the more clear your impression gets.  Eventually you’ll know exactly what to expect from the wake as far as pop goes.  Don’t be anti-social while riding out there.  If the boat speed is off, give them the signal for faster or slower.  At the same time don’t harp on this.  If the speed is off, it’s off… you’ll have to deal with it.  Between passes and after falling is usually a good time to make speed adjustments since they don’t interrupt your run.  Also, when you fall probe the judges for answers.  Don’t be afraid to talk to them.  If you are trying to decide between two tricks ask them for their opinion.  I know I’ve given you a lot of things to think about, but honestly you shouldn’t try to over-analyze everything.  Just let everything happen naturally when on the water.  You’ve been thinking about this competition for weeks now, so why not just let everything you’ve been working on flow out of you naturally.

Well, I hope this post helps some of you guys at your competitions this year.  If you have any other advice, suggestions or stories, leave a comment below!