Illegal or Legal in VA

I wish things were this smooth everywhere else in VA
http://www.wakenskate.com/newsflash/is-wakesurfing-illegal-or-legal.html

as has been stated in other threads, some of the more avid enforcement in VA has been for nuisance reasons, not safety reasons.

I have been pulled over several times over the years, on just about every lake in VA because the officer believed that it is illegal, including SML. I just thought it was cool that Wake n Skate/Gaudio is in a position that they are able to work with the law enforcement and have them on the same page.

Thats not accurate mars. The VA Gaming Warden is twisting an existing law for the sake of 'safety', state-wide. The law states that a boat driver must be operating at idle speed within 50 feet of a swimmer. The twist is the VA Warden is stating that as soon as you let go or toss the rope while wakesurfing, that you are a swimmer. Therefore the driver is now breaking the law. And I know because I got a first hand lecture from the warden.

Only a moron would consider someone riding on top of the water a 'swimmer' and not a rider, but they are getting away with it. One ticket went to court, and the defendant lost from what I understand. Setting the precedence state wide with .

The "rumor" is that the Warden's office is full of fisherman who were annoyed with their bass boats having to deal with the wakesurf waves, therefore they did something about it.

I know the same warden that pulled me over was filming us wakesurfing a year before.

I read the article and like you said Alan, it would be nice if things were like SML statewide. I plan on contacting the officer noted in the article and see if we can get some of the same information spread down here.

Wakesurfing is our joy, and its been beating on me all summer to have to duck and hide just to get surfing. Thankfully it was chilly enough today to keep the game warden at home.

Blair.. respectfully.. my comment is accurate as far as I have been able to ascertain based on following a few cases. I would not have posted it otherwise.
If they were strictly ticketing for safety they would just plain call it reckless and be done with it on a case by case basis-the rules are on their side when it comes to safety.
Instead they are looking for a legal loophole to categorically attack the sport-that's something very different. As you point out they are trying to pretend a surfer is a swimmer in the eyes of the law. They are not morons, they know what swimming is and they certainly seem to know what wakesurfing is (how else would they manage to go after it almost exlcusively).
To pretend otherwise is naiive in my opinion. The wardens I have met are pretty savvy, they know what they are doing.

Blair, send me an email next time you guys are going out... I am working from home these days and I have a new boat coming Thursday.... Jalans11 at comcast dot net

Mars, in the interest of keeping the post on point I will keep it to a minimum. The law they are trying to use against wakesurfing is a safety law, not a nuisance law, which is what I meant.

I've been contacted by the author of the article who gave me the name of an officer in charge I can talk to and even work with. I will be pursuing that avenue and updating this post with what I run into.

Wish me luck.

Correct, they are miappropriating the statute to regulate what they perceive as a nuisance... I did not imply that the 50 ft regulation was a nuisance regulation.
I wish you all the luck in the world! Previous forrays have ended in dead ends as there are some decidedly antiwakesurf perceptions that need addressing.
We could help matters by policing our own. Next time I see a boat full of underage drinkers blasting obscenity laden hip hop leaning off the swim platform to pass the rider a beer I will say something.

What about in Maryland?

I, for one, love blasting obscenity laden hip-hop and having someone passing me a beer while surfing. Sorry...but if it helps, I'm 28. LOL!