competition rope lengths

Maybe a stupid question but what rope lengths are used in a wakeboarding competiton? Does everyone get to choose their speed and length or is it the same for all riders in the same class?

Thanks

any comp i been in you choose ur speed and length

any comp i been in you choose ur speed and length

Its all on you bud. The driver will ask you how fast and the rope guy/girl will ask you where you want your rope at. All the way out, 1 in, 2 in etc.

Thanks

I have shortened my rope to 65' and have been riding a lot better. I have my heelside w2w's dialed in pretty good...starting to work on my toeside. I was just curious because there seems to be a stigma associated with rope length, like shorter is easier and only for beginners. I have a buddy that has troubles with consistency at 70 ft but he balks at shortening the rope. I was wondering about what is required in competition because if longer is much harder wouldn't it be hard to fairly judge if one guy is riding at 80ft and another is at 65?

I guess if you can pull off the tricks it doesn't really matter?

you get judged on your tricks, not what length of line you need to do them on! if someone's riding a rope that's too long for themselves they're just penalising themselves. you'll probably learn much faster than your mate, and will do the tricks better when you eventually lengthen your line.

in comps though, the other problem is which boat you're riding behind. I'll usually use a different length line depending on boat, cos they all have different wake widths and characteristics. It can be a bit of a gamble if you've never ridden behind the comp boat before...

Lines sub-75' generally are for beginners, though a lot of comp riders shorten their ropes to get more tricks per pass. I say ride whatever length you're most comfortable with. If you're riding well at 65' and learning tricks, then stick with it till you get some more experience and consistency.

This may be a stupid question too but do you not get like a practice run? Not necessarily even a run but just like one pull down the length of the pass just to kinda get a feel for the wake? Or is there too many riders to do that? Clearly I've never been to a comp before.

No practice no warm up. Strap it on and throw what you know.

The comps I have been to you pick speed and rope length and right or left double up. Yeah no warm up. I have never seen a warm up run at a contest. They drive the boat in the pattern a few times with no rider so the driver cant get settled in and all contestants can see the pattern

Originally Posted by dadthedriver

No practice no warm up. Strap it on and throw what you know.

i love this.....typical *** it and huck it quotes hahahaha

As everyone has said "you pick". In the case of two riders having almost identical runs an official will take into consideration a shorter vs longer rope length. If two people threw down runs that essentially scored the same, the rope length could be the deciding factor to place on rider higher than the other. That being said, ride with whatever you're comfortable with. It's about you doing your thing and having a good day!

In the odd contest they have familiarization which is a practice run but for 90% of the contests I've competed at, it's strap in and go. The biggest challenge is to be mentally prepared. You want to be relaxed and enjoying the environment. If you have addrenaline and nerves try to move them to focused instead of nervous.

Contests are really about having fun, meeting new people, and just trying to ride your ride.

You can also bring your own rope or use the boat rope. I really do not care which handle or line I use, but bringing your own will guarantee riding what lenght you are used to, especially if you mark it where you want with a small bit of flagging tape. Sometimes when you use the boat rope, you do not necessarily ride at the length requested. They try to give you what you want but the rope person may or may not have full command of how long the line is. You may also notice variances in speed depending on how well calibrated your boat is and how the tourney boat is calibrated.

When in doubt, I will shorten rope 5' and may go a .5MPH faster than normal when getting that first tourney pull behind a boat I have never ridden behind. If you fall they will adjust the rope length for yah.