The decline of a board sport - maybe a lesson to be learned?
Wow. Actually found something worthwhile on WakeWorld. :)
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor...s-Screwed.html
The OP made a very good observation between the obvious parallel between snowboarding and wakeboarding. With what MC just did to the PWT, I'm afraid the sport may be heading down the same path. Hopefully, others will take note and work to avoid such pitfalls. And maybe, just maybe, that section of this forum that was recently hearing the approach of the Grim Reaper will rise again.
The decline of a board sport - maybe a lesson to be learned?
I love to snow ski. If it wasn't so freaking hard for me to get up on a snowboard I might do that, but I'm 47, don't bend well and I'm carrying to much weight. That means just getting down and up on a snowboard wears me out. I've done it several times over the last few years and enjoyed it but I've fallen much harder snowboarding than I ever fell skiing.
Same sort of goes for water sports. When we bought the boat I got a slalom ski and a wakeboard. I mainly wake boarded because the slalom killed me physically. I enjoyed the wakeboard but then we took up surfing and I could do that a long longer. Didn't hurt as much to fall either. I'm still feeling pretty challenged by surfing so I don't see getting bored with it. Surfing is now the primary activity in our boat.
I still snow ski though.
The decline of a board sport - maybe a lesson to be learned?
I read that outside magazine article and found myself doubting the 'facts'. Interestingly, there are some links within that article (and right after it) that point to another article that completely disagrees with that article and points strongly to the economy and other facets to account for the stats. It's all subjective...
The decline of a board sport - maybe a lesson to be learned?
I still disagree with wake surfing be the cool new thing. I understand why the older boating crowd enjoys it but wakeboarding still has it's place. I can count on one finger the number of times we surfed last summer and on the river by and large wake boarding is more prevalent than surfing is. I will say the rise in surfing popularity definitely has something to do with the cost of boats keeping younger people off the water this decreasing the number of wakeboarders
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