Tips by David Ngiam
Video : Jane Loh
Photo : Chris Yeo
For most parts, getting up on a wakeskate is the same as getting up on a wakeboard. The main difference is that wakeboards are attached to your feet, so it may be a little easier to control the board at the start of the pull. So as a start, it might be a good idea to learn how to do a deep water start using a wakeboard first before trying it on a wakeskate.
To do a deep water start on a wakeskate, the tricky part is to how to keep your board under you before you even begin. Well, the easiest way is to first let your body float flat on the water, and rest the heels of your feet on the back edge of your wakeskate.
Keep your toes pointed towards the sky while wakeskate lies flat on the water. You don’t need to keep your feet flushed flat against the board at this time and attempting to do so while probably cause your wakeskate to shoot away from you. Also, keep your body posture flat on the water with your head tilted up just enough for you to look at your board and get yourself oriented with your surroundings.
Keep your the rope in between your feet and relax. As the boat starts to pull and the line tightens up, start bringing your knees towards your chest while keeping your feet resting on top of the board, very soon, you will realize that the wakeskate will actually snap against your feet and stay there. Once that happens, getting up on a wakeskate is exactly the same as getting up on a wakeboard.