Kneeboarding is an aquatic

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

 where the participant is towed on a buoyant, convex, and hydrodynamically shaped board

Boardsport

Boardsports are sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrain, from paved flat-ground and snow covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considered action sports or extreme sports, and thus often appeal to youth...

 at a planing speed behind a motorboat

Motorboat

A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...

. Kneeboarding can also be done, in waves at the beach. In the usual configuration of a tow-sport kneeboard, riders sit on their heels on the board, and secure themselves to the deck with an adjustable strap over their thighs. As in wakeboarding

Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques....

 or water skiing

Water skiing

thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...

, the rider hangs onto a tow-rope. The forte of kneeboarding vis-a-vis other tow-sports seems to be an easier learning curve and a sense of being closer to the water when falls occur.

History

Kneeboarding originated in Southern California around 1965. This happened because many of the surfers of the area tried using homemade boards behind tow boats. The original board was a teardrop design but was later redesigned by Danny Churchill(a former speedskier) from southern California to the current shape used by many companies. He later sold the design to KRANSCO who countiued the product name HydoSlide. In the early 1980s the very first association for competition was formed called the International Kneeboard Association (IKA). Founded by Roland Hillier of Maitland, Florida he was a former World, National and Masters Water Ski Champion who decided to have a fun form of competition. He attended the Chicago Boat Show to promote the sport but was told by the industry the sport would not be popular enough to create kneeboards by their companies. Time proved them wrong as the sport flurished and they jumped on the bandwagon. The three events were tricks, slalom and wake crossing. An additional event was added called the "flip-out" when more competitors began doing flips in their trick pass. The flip-out was to see how many flips could be completed in twenty seconds. Membership was worldwide. Roland Hillier also wrote the first book on kneeboarding called "Kneeboarding A - Z"; produced "The National Kneeboard Championships" while the competition was being held in Orlando, Florida. The thirty minute program was aired on ABC and then converted to a PBS format where it was also aired. The kneeboarders who added new trick to the IKA rule book through their "What If?" are: Mario Fosa, Ted Bevelaqua, and Mario Fosa. Their barrel rolls, front flip and back flip, and surface rolls added a new and exciting twist to the sport. Sea World of Orlando approached the IKA to hold its next Nationals at their park. However, original sponsors would not be allowed to participate and Hillier felt strongly that supporters should be included and did not accept. The American Kneeboarding Association (AKA) was founded after the International Kneeboard Association rejected the Sea World offer and started to produce competitive events. This is when the AKA started and was then taken in by USA WaterSki.
¹ Kneeboarding History

Description

Required equipment includes a tow rope, a kneeboard and a boat that can go about 15-20 mph (28–32 km/h). Kneeboarding starts are relatively simple, and the rider does not need to travel very quickly.

There are two basic grips - the palms-down grip and the baseball bat grip. For the palms-down grip the hands facing downward while holding the ski rope. For the Baseball Bat grip kneeboarders hold the handle just like a baseball bat.

Tricks

Here is a list of kneeboarding tricks:

1. Riding - Ride with your arms at full extension (this keeps your arms from tiring,) your knees in the divits, and the strap on relatively tight.
2. Turning - While riding, hold on tightly to the tow rope, and lean your body to one side. This should put the kneeboard on its edge, and take you outside of the boat's wake. To come back straight behind the boat, lean in the other direction. To turn more aggressively, pull in on the rope with your arms and lean harder.
3. Side Slide - Position yourself directly behind the boat with a palms-down grip. Rotate the board sideways without turning on edge - the board should slide. As you slide sideways, lean back so the boat doesn't pull you forward. It makes it much easier if you pull the handle and place it on your hip while you turn sideways. You should lean away from the boat just a little.
4. "Jumping the wake"- To jump the wake while on a kneeboard, simply cut hard out of the wake, get as far away from the boat as possible (to one side,) then use a progressively harder cut back toward the wake. Lean back slightly, and you will launch off the wake of the boat, sending you into the air. Make sure you hold the board flat by using your stomach muscles.
5. The ole - To perform this trick, you must combine the skills of balance and riding one-handed. You pull in the tow rope, pulling in hand-over-hand, until you are holding the rope roughly 6 feet beyond the handle. From there, you hold the rope in one hand, near your hip, and then swing the remainder of the rope, along with the handle, above your head
6. Surface 360 - This trick is very similar to the side slide. Slightly rotate to one side to build momentum, and then fully rotate in the opposite direction. If you are spinning to the right, release the rope with your right hand, spin, grab the rope again behind your back, and then pull yourself through to finish the 360.
7. Riding Backwards - You go through exactly the same motion as a 360, but instead of pulling yourself through the 360, you pause while both hands are behind your back. You must lean forward while riding backwards - leaning what is forward to the rider will push the nose down and the tail up. Otherwise, the tail could go under the water and flip the rider.
8. Wake Front-to-Back - Make a hard cut from outside the wake, using the palms-down grip. Right before you hit the wake, stop cutting and pop up in a jump, focusing on pushing your knees away from your chest to give you added height. As soon as you are airborne, rotate your body to the right and pull the handle to your hip. As you spin, keep a tight grip on the rope, and lean forward slightly. Keep leaning forward (away from the boat) as you hit the water. Once you have landed, you should be riding backwards, and can continue to ride with both hands at your hip.
9. Wake 360 front-to-front (wrapped) - While in the middle of the wake, pull yourself towards the boat, collecting the rope in one hand. Then, wrap the rope around your back, and hold onto the handle. Let go of the rope, and the friction of the rope straightening will spin you around.
10. Air (Ollie) - similar to the skateboarding trick of the same name, or a bunny hop in BMX, it is possible to jump without utilizing the wake. By pushing down against the water with your knees and simultaneously pulling the handle in provides more tension on the rope. Then pulling upwards with your legs, you can make the entire board leave the water. If this is combined with 'jumping' the wake, much greater heights can be achieved.
11. Back Roll - Make a hard cut toward the wake. One millisecond before you hit the wake, flatten out. Ride up the wake while resisting it (see wake jump). At the top of the wake, and not before, throw your shoulders sideways in the direction of your roll. At the same time, look back over your shoulder and pull the handle to your waist. Your momentum will take you around and then you just need to land. If you are coming up short, you are most likely throwing the trick too soon, letting your arms out, or not throwing the trick sideways. If you lean forward at all, you will lose your rotation momentum.
12. Switch 3 - The switch 3 is basically a wake 360 back except that you change the direction of rotation after 180 degrees. Make a hard cut toward the wake with a palms down grip. When you reach the trough, spin around 180 degrees. Rotate to the left if you're cutting to the right and rotate to the right if you're cutting to the left. Tuck the handle into your hip. Ride up the wake while resisting it to get a good pop. Once you are in the air and not sooner, spin back to the front. As you come around, keep the handle low and let your arms extend out. Once you reach the forward position, pull the handle to your waist again and spin backward in the opposite direction. Land backwards and use your second pop to spin back to the front. It's very important to keep the handle at your waist and your head up when landing.
13. Frontflip- edge in hard, flatten out, pop off the wake and immediately throw your body straight down. keeping both hands on the handle and close to your hip. this will help with rotation and control. spot your landing, and hope.

External links

• Kneeboarding at ukboardsports.com Information, classifieds and discussion forums for UK boardriders
• http://www.extremeboarders.com/kneeboarding/ Instructional, Videos, Pictures
• Kneeboarding info at kneeboard-uk.com Instructional, Videos, Training and Forums for kneeboarders all over the world