Image: wakeboardingmag.com
But I want to talk about a different aspect. Something that can change the face of wakeboarding and wakeskating and make them skyrocket in popularity. We just need to make sure that things are done right. This is how I think 2.0's can help make the world of wakeskating and wakeboarding become a great spectator sport.
How it Should be Done
Contests are good. I think we can all agree. Nothing like the spirit of competition to help progress the sport. One thing we need to remember though is that not only are the riders are responsible to up their game, but also contest organizers are as well. They need to make sure they do it right. I'm a firm believer that using the System 2.0 correctly will help the masses understand the sport. For so long wakeboarding has been a long-distance spectator sport. You pick a spot on shore and hopefully someone does a trick in front of you as the boat drives by. Even as a huge fan, being a spectator at a boat competition sucks unless you thought to bring your binoculars.
Now, with two-tower technology, we have the ability to minimize that distance between the riders and the crowds, and that's great. They need to be close, think "have a section that's a splash zone" close. To the uninitiated viewing wakeboarding and wakeskating for the first time, they'll finally be able to tell one trick from another. A hard thing to do long-distance, where everything looks like the same trick to the untrained eye. That nose-press will mean more, a grabbed spin will show more style, and that heelflip won't look like a kickflip.
This is something that wakeskating does correctly now with winch contests. Everyone can get up-close to the stair/rail set and really see what goes down. If we can carry this feel over to bigger contests for both wakeboarding and wakeskating, then there's no reason it couldn't turn in to a solid spectator sport.
What's Happening Now
With all of that said, I do have to say that these kinds of contests are popping up more often, but sometimes they're done right, but other times they leave a lot to be desired. The right way to do it is exactly like this:
A swimming pool with bleachers on either side, a variety of obstacles, and the close-up action required to get people's attention.
Here's an example of what not to do. The (somewhat) recent Wake Open in Tampa. I was excited to see all of the marketing hype around the event and it was definitely a Red Bull-level experience, but the execution was abysmal. I even had access to the media dock that most people didn't get and had a hard time seeing what was going on. The setup looked something like this:
WHAT IS THAT? This should have been held along one shore with people lined all the way down, and boats along the other side. Not way out in the middle of a body of water. It was a Red Bull event so plenty of people showed, but I have to wonder how many people actually went home excited for wakeboarding; digging for more information on the web when they got home, signing up for forums and learning more about the sport. This is not a knock on Red Bull overall, they've done excellent 2.0 comps (and arguably are the ones who kicked the whole thing off) and continue to support the movement. I can also see where they may have had some challenges with the venue, blocking waterways, and the number of people that were expected to show up; but we need to make sure that high-profile events like this are done correctly. Lets get them closer, lets get pro rider's faces recognized so people new to the sport have someone to cheer for. Lets blow wakeboarding and wakeskating up to a level they've never been by using this new technology in the best possible way.
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