Starting a small wakeboard camp

Ok, I have this idea and want to know if anyone else has experimented with this. Me and my friend are getting pretty good at wakeboarding...not amazing. We were thinking about starting a camp to teach kids how to wakeboard. We would teach beginner-intermediates the basics and help with more beginner tricks like tantrums, backrolls, 360s, and raleys. We would charge like $200-$300 a day. They would get to ride for like 3-4 hours with as many friends as they like. We would supply snacks, drinks, Nice wakeboarding boat, and our equipment. Like I said, we are not pro riders, but we can land a lot of tricks (180s, raley, 360s, rolls, tantrums). How would we advertise, and would it be worth it as a small summer time job?

I has a friend that did that for a boat dealership up here. He only did it last year I think, but he enjoyed it. I would start by trying to find a wakeboarding dealer to let you work through them, especially if they don't have anyhting like that now. This might be easier to do though in a smaller town. I also had another friend that taught wakeboarding for a summer camp in maine one year and he had a blast. He was proably around your skill level or worse. Sounds cool though, always wanted to teach kids how to wakeboard for a summer job.

It would be cool, but keep in mind if you aren't real well-known in your area people will probably hesitate to spend that much money. Are you involved with your local shop/boat dealership? Do you ride in any tournaments?

Based on experience and knowing a bunch of people who give wakeboarding lessons, you will probably have more success if you get your names out there and let people see you ride.

Also make sure you know how to explain things in a manner that people will understand. I have had people give me advice and I have no idea what they are talking about, then others who say something and it clicks right away.

As for your question about advertising, get to know the owner of your local shop and any boat dealerships in the area. Make up some business cards and flyers for them to keep at the shops where people will see them.

Whether or not it would be worth it entirely depends on how well you put yourself out there. If you can get one or two clients who learned some stuff and really liked you, they will spread the word (hopefully). You also have to take into consideration how you are going to do it. If you use your own boat, you have to pay for gas which could get very spendy. If you use your own gear (most people would probably use their own) you have to keep in mind the wear and tear from a bunch of people using it, so you might have to get new stuff at the end of the summer.

Just a few thoughts for you. If you could make it work that would be great. I know several people who do lessons and make pretty good money, mostly because they are at all of the tournaments, they ride for the local shops and are overall great riders. Good luck!

I second Bonnie's response for the most part. Just being able to do the stuff yourself really says nothing of your ability to teach-- that goes double for teaching kids.

I've coached dozens of people on landing beginner and intermediate tricks, even tricks I can't land myself, and I think it's more coaching ability than my own boarding that is a factor here.

Things I think are of paramount importance--

- Understanding the technical nature of every trick. Here's where being able to do the trick yourself helps a lot but isn't required if you still understand it throroughly.

- Having the "eye"-- being able to see what someone is doing right or wrong and giving feedback that someone will respond to.

- Patience. Patience. Patience.

- For kids especially, being able to establish trust and get them to really listen and respond to you. And more patience.

That all being said, I think you guys probably have enough boarding skill to target teaching beginning/intermediate wakeboarding to kids. Hopefully you have the coaching/teaching skills you would need and the business savvy to get something like this off the ground. Re: the cost for participants, I too think the price is a bit high. Check out other camps as a guide.

I certainly wish you luck with the endeavor. Anything like this that can help promote the sport is a good thing-- especially at the kid level.

I don't know your age, but you better be older than 18 and have an adult spotter in the boat with you. You better also get a good contract that limits your liability for injuries or death. You might also get an umbrella policy on your insurance for your boat and passengers.

As far as costs and ammenities:
1. Are you towing to the lake everyday or are you moored at the lake with all your equipment ready and nearby?
2. Will the snacks be on the boat, or at your house / rest stop.
3. If there's an injury to one rider, does everyone have to stop for the day or is there a place for that rider to be dropped off for medical attention or rest if that's all that's needed. If everybody has to bail, get ready to refund.
4. I've been to 1/2 day, full day, and week long camps and they're all a little different in the way they are run and priced.

Ok, the local dealer already does this and charges $125 for an hour. I wanted to do something way more affordable. Also, I am a pretty good teacher. I have taught my best friend how to backroll and tantrum and he has only been riding for a summer. Plus we get almost every new wakeboarder up on there first trys. We have been teaching a new 12 yr old and he is jumping the wake after 4 trips on the boat. I would definately make some flyers of us doing some big tricks so that people know we are for real. By next summer I will have all of the following... malibu VLX fully loaded for wakeboarding, house with lift on the water, and much more tricks and teaching abilities. Also, I think I would have a lawyer make a waiver so that I cannot be held responsible.

Why don't you do something like 120 dollars per person with a three person minimum for a 4 to 6 hour lesson that includes 3 to 4 sets per person. Additional people could be 95 dollars per person. Max of 5.

There is something about this sort of thing that I have never figured out.

In general terms, it requires a captain's license to carry passengers for hire (USA, I have no idea about other countries). I know that such a license is required to take people out fishing or scuba diving, so I would think that skiing or wakeboarding would be the same thing.

Yet I know there are non-captains teaching skiing and wakeboarding. Is there a loophole I am not aware of, or does the law enforcement just turn a blind eye?

What would happen if someone was injured and decided to sue?

Rod