Are We Going Mainstream?
It seems like wakeboarding is becoming more mainstream lately, what with Bob & Phil bringing wakeboarding to the masses and a bid for the 2020 Olympics for cable.
Are you a fan of more people wanting to get into the sport, or do you like it that you have this thing that no one else does, where so many people know each other? |
I don't think the sport will get much bigger, mostly because of the need for a tow boat or a cable park, and most people don't have access to either. The price of a wake boat has been pretty crazy already and it seems like with the release of the 13's, the prices keep going up. Not sure how much higher they can go. ( not to mention the price of gas as well :banghead:) Most of us are very privileged to own or have access to a boat and/or a lake and far too few people do for the growth of the sport to be significant IMO. In terms of cable parks, they are too far and few in between and are limited in terms of volume as only a few riders can actually be active at one time. I compare the cable parks to needing a lift ticket at a ski resort for snow boarders, but the volumes don't even compare. How many wake boarders can be active at once t a cable park? Go to a mountain, ski hill and you will see hundreds at once going down the hills/terrain parks. I think the sport has certainly grown in popularity, but due to the significant barriers of entry mentioned above, I question how much further it can grow.
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Water skiing never really became huge, wake boarding won't either. I'm OK with it. Crowds ruin everything.
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sadly tubing and jetskis will still ruin everything.
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I dont mind wakeboarding getting more mainstream. Im always stoked to meet other riders! It would also be cool to say "Im a wakeboarder" w/o having to explain what the hell it is to the person you're trying to impress or create a conversation with lol
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It more than likely won't take off due to the large amount of money required. Sure cable parks help to bring it closer to people without a boat but cables are still very few and far between. I see wake boarding being like snowboarding/FMX/Motocross etc... If you have access to it, it will get big but as said earlier with the cost of boats increasing, memberships at cable parks aren't all that cheap etc... I think it still has a long way to go. I remember skateboarding when I was 10-15years old and BMX from 15-18 or so and we were always the "menace" destroying curbs and ledges etc..... Well here we are 12years later and only a few towns have skateparks near by and I live in a pretty populated area. The only way I see it getting bigger is people opening up their boats, demo days and public awareness. I know my local shop I support like crazy, i put stickers everywhere, on my boards, boat , truck etc... Only we can grow the sport
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I think there is a little more growth coming with more calbe parks but it's still an expensive sport which holds alot of people back. On the other hand, lift prices are crazy expensive and snow boarding blew up but I think the shine is wearing off that sport lately.
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As for the thread, cable is the future. Far more likely wakesurfing will become mainstream than wakeboarding... |
You can't wake surf behind an IO... so I disagree. Also, wakeboarding isn't going mainstream at all I'd say...
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Paddleboarding is where its at. If you havent jumped on the bandwagon yet...you still have time. Fastest growing watersport out their right now.
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I wouldn't consider SUP on flat water to be a sport.
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I know you have a sup or two. |
You mean "again"?
Wakeboarding had a period where it was arguably mainstream. There was regular contest coverage, a spot at the x-games, gravity games, dew tour, a t.v. show on the OLN network and a few guys were making some serious money between contests and endorsements. |
You guys do realize there are over 140 cable parks in the world (100 of those in Europe & Africa...60 alone in Germany). Hell between TX & FL we have what 10 or so? Blame your local politicians that they havent popped up more in your area. I understand a 2.0 isnt going to widely open up the scene to new people bc cant cycle as many riders through but you get more of these 4-5 towers put up around the country and it could explode.
This weekend alone I bet I came across 25-30 people whose first time it was riding a wakeboard and by the end of the day they were hooked. |
I'm not sure how I feel about it. On one hand it sucks when there's only 2/3 riders where I ride so I'd like a bit bigger of a community but on the other hand bank holiday weekends in the summer are just days when I say don't bother because everyone's out and there's never anywhere nice
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LR3... blame politicians and the government?? Riiiiight... How about, if its such a lucrative business opportunity you open a wake park in every big city, could be the next big Franchise opportunity of 'Merica, "Wake Park - billions and billions of rides given"...
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Oh good were mainstream again. That means we are back into the X-games programming lineup!
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Looks like wakeskating is going mainstream if The Bieber is doing it. Just saw this posted on twitter by wakeboardingnews (and NO I dont follow him on twitter lol).
http://img.tapatalk.com/c6e4c81c-12d3-4ff7.jpg |
nice gloves beebs.... :eek:
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