Ten Years

so where does everyone think this sport will be headed in ten years? will Rusty still be on top? will MC and CC still be a some of the top boats in the business? what are everybody's thoughts

i thought soven was on top.

just kidding. i see it only getting better as far as gear and boats, but probably getting more expensive too as far as gas is concerned. i really think it will keep growing and expanding and taking over the watersports marketshare. we were out today and saw a guy slalom skiing and we were all kind o trippin' on it. like, whoa!!!! theres a blast from the past.

Think back to 1998. There are many things I would of never guessed at the time as to how far this sport would of progressed in such a short time. Hopefully in 2018 I'll be able to say the same thing.

(Message edited by kristian on July 24, 2008)

it will be interesting to see, but i am willing to bet the guys on top right now will still be involved but no longer riding. riding takes a huge toll on your body. who knows, maybe there wil be alot more of those wake skis then and we will have a similar thing to snowboarding and skiing

ya if u want to look at snowboarding and skiing to see what might happen to wakeboarding, all that happened was new technology was invented, and its made snowboarding a whole lot better. I feel the same will happen for wakeboarding.

As boats and gas get more expensive cable parks will become a much bigger part of the sport. Its just a much easier and cheaper way to get new people into the sport. Already in Europe there are more people who ride cable than boat. Once a few more strategically place cables are built in north america it will really take off and easily bring the sport to so many more people. Bringing much more money into the sport.

In the past 3 years we've gone away from fancy spoilers, unnecessary bells and whistles and seen a HUGE progress in how boards are built. That trend will only continue. Ten years from now we should have a huge selection of boards that ride completely differant from one to the other, even more so than today. A selection more like snowboards today.

Of course bindings will forever improve. I expect current mounting systems to be completely gone in 5 years.

It would be cool to get some more international companies in the mix.

I know some of the ideas for up-coming product development and within 5 years there will be huge progress let alone 10 years.

It would be a dream (in my eyes) if wakeboarding grew to have the diversity that snowboarding has. With killer movies coming out, sick events, more traditional contests, etc, etc. We're getting there, I just hope no one puts any limits or rules on the growth.

I wouldn't expect anything major out of the boat companies. Mostly improvements on the engines, hopefully making them more efficient.


I could go on and on and on, hahaha.






Edit: Way to many spelling errors, hopefully my english and typing skill will improve in 10 years. I kinda doubt it though

(Message edited by kristian on July 24, 2008)

equipment and boats will improve with minor tweakings.

Cable parks are not for me. I love wakeboarding and boating too much. However they do seem good for maintenance riding.

Wakeboarding is a sport with very high barriers to entry. This has played a big part in limiting the growth of it, especially since the status quo has changed and ultimately become more expensive. Everybody used to ride behind whatever could pull you - there were no towers, 4000lbs of automatic ballast, and $800 board/binding set ups (actually that's conservative these days, isn't Rusty's new board around 700 bucks?). A lot of people these days think you can't wakeboard unless it's behind what's deemed a 'wakeboat'. They see someone come by and do a tantrum and think you need to have a tower and a monster wake only seen behind 50k+ boats to be able to do that. Then there's of course the skyrocketing price of oil.

The elitist attitude a lot of 'boarders' have is just icing on the cake at this point. There's a thread now about a guy whose friend ditched him b/c his other buddies got nicer boats. I've seen posts on here and heard stories from people I know about other boats in coves who act hostile and put down riders who are just beginning. That's a bad first impression people get when they're just getting into the sport.

Cable parks will eventually take root and start sprouting up here like they are in Europe. I think this will give wakeboarding a lot more exposure to a much broader audience. I've ridden behind the cable once and I ride regular but I totally embrace the idea of cable parks as far as the livelihood of wakeboarding is concerned. Now I just need to find some venture capitalists to help me build one in Charlotte .

What does a typical cable park cost for a day or season pass or whatever they offer?? None that i know of in the Northeast. Just wondering, may be a good business venture? Who knows though.

OWC prices are:
1 Hour - $22.00
2 Hours - $28.00
4 Hours - $34.00
All Day Pass - $40.00
Weekly Pass - $185.50
Annual- $1000

cable riding seems like a good way to practice on rails/kickers/etc. but i hope it never replaces wakeboarding..there is something about the wake that just makes wakeboarding so much better. oh ya! its the wake! booted into the flats, or landing on the tranny, you can't replace the wake! hopefully my kids ride behind a loaded down v-drive powered by bio-diesel pushin out a waist-high wake...

I often thought about building a cable park on my family farm here in PA. There is roughly 80 acres to play with on an open field. The land is right next to a large highway. I haven’t done any market research or cost analysis. Just kind of a crazy dream I had. Anybody think something like this would work in the north east?? If you don’t mind cold water it could be open from April to October. Not sure if it would be profitable being open only 7 months. Also, is OWC a natural lake and how deep is it?? Thanks!

Talking to many pro's they are putting their money on cable parks. As the cost of gas goes up you will see a boom in cable parks across the US. The same reason Germany alone has 60+ cables.


Also look at all the florida rippers, they all have spent countless hours on the cable.

In 10 years:

Wake surfing specific boats are designed, and simultaneously wakesurfing gets a bad reputation, is banned on many lakes, and the sport crumbles on lakes due to laws. The sport doesn't die because...

...wakesurfers take to the ocean. Oddly shaped boats with oddly placed ballast systems patrol the coasts and bays of the planet. Joining them are...

...boats that evoke thoughts of the current CSX line. Who would think that a boat so strangely designed would be the prototype of the typical wake boat in 2018. The size and powertrain is what surprises you. All forms of alternate power have been experimented with, but hybrids reign supreme on 2018 model year wake boats. The typical boat is 25ft long. 30ft is no longer the exclusive domain of the x80. Supra, Correct Craft and Malibu also all have entries in this space.

Wakeskating gets ever more technical and incredulous. Bolt-on slider equipment resembling large fins & casters without wheels allow wakeskaters to manual on-land obstacles. Riders are manual-to-kickflipping out consistently enough for show at demos.

Wakeboarding, strangely, remains very similar to that of our era. Board weight is reduced to a point that the bindings are now the barrier to getting typical boards under 4lbs. Technical tricks remain the key to competitive success, but many riders are going back to wrapped tricks and to-wrap tricks. This ushers in the application of the trick release to wakeboarding. Tower mounted trick releases become standard on team and camp boats.

By 2018, several high-profile riders have broken their tibias/fibulas and femurs in closed toe boots, and in doing so closed the book on their career. This forced the industry's hand, who stupidly, stupidly, stupidly procrastinated on the development of release bindings. By 2018, release systems are standard fare and are as enforced as life jackets.

...just some thoughts...

(Message edited by juniorhawk on July 25, 2008)

I will have bought a 2008 super air with 300 hours on it...because its just as good as the 2018 super duper air and it only cost me $30K instead of $150K.

I'll still be biting it on HS 360's and backrolls, maybe a surgery or 2 more.

In 10 years from now, the top riders are currently 8-12 years old and we dont' even know them yet.

10 years from now I still won't care about who won what tour stop, who has the loudest system, or what someone's momma said on the discussion board. The best riders will still be the one's having the most fun. Wakeboarding will still be about getting out there and having fun with your friends.

In 10 years I wanna see Jimmy Lariche nailing 1260s every try on a Mastercraft that will make it to the Bahamas with a Brownie's Third Lung diving system and still throw a beautiful wake.
But that's just me

Derek-

There's another aspect to cable riding besides rails and kickers. Yes, there isn't a wake... but you can do massive airtricks right out of the flat water by loading the line and releasing. There are guys who do double S-Bends to blind right off the flat water! I say the more cable parks the better. It doesn't have to replace the wake, but it's an alternative way to ride.

Joshua-

I think it would be awesome if someone built a cable in PA, it would give me another reason to visit back home, other than to see old friends (where I grew up). I think it could be profitable, it gets pretty cold in Germany and they have over 50 cable parks. Check out this website:

http://www.cablewakeparks.com/

Cable Wakeparks distributes Rixen cables here in the States- their site tells you all about the process of building a cable and who to contact if you're interested in building your own.

"Annual- $1000"

With 401K????

POST OF THE YEAR?

release bindings. By 2018,

NOW!

Tank has got it!!!

Who cares. Just get out and enjoy. I have more fun tweaking my grabs and carving than I do trying to land new technical tricks.

I could be riding behind a PWC with no wake and still make the most out of it.

hmmm in 10 years... play shaun murray pro wakeboarding, thats where wakeboarding will be. lol

Loise-
I have ridden cable...and like i said, its a great way to pratice and learn, but nothing will ever replace the real thing. Air tricks are all fine and dandy, but what I was trying to say is that I hope the wake never goes away from wakeboarding/wakeskating...