Intermediate Wakesurfing

How to do Line Tricks

Most wakesurfing tricks require surfing without the rope but some actually utilize the rope to perform the trick. There are many ways to be creative with the wakesurfing rope, but in this article we will cover two. The "Road Kill," and with-the-handle spins.

Before you start trying to do tricks with the rope, you should consider buying a dedicated wakesurfing handle. Surfing ropes have a smaller handle and are shorter than normal ropes so that your limbs are less likely to get caught, dragged, and mangled, helping you avoid some serious injuries (warning: graphic image).

The Road Kill is a wakesurfing trick invented by noneother than myself. It is when you get slack in the rope and proceed to pass it under your board to the other side. You "run over" the rope.

There is very little to this trick once you have mastered getting slack. All you have to do is hold the rope in your front hand and pass it around behind your back into your back hand as you run it over. The one other tip I can give you is to attach the rope to your lower pylon rather than your tower. This will let it move more freely under your board.

The other line tricks we'll discuss today are the surface 180 and surface 360. These tricks are easier to do with the rope than without, but they will help prepare you for doing ropeless spins later on. By doing 180s and 360s with the rope, you can mellow the learning curve and get comfortable spinning without worrying about slack.

Spinning with the rope is a simple exercise in balance. To do a simple 180, bend your knees, lean back against the rope, let go with your front hand, and spin at the hips. Spinning with the rope is easier if you spin your front foot away from the wake (counter-clockwise for left-foot-forward riders). Once you've spun around, try to get slack heelside. This is a tad harder than getting slack toeside because your dominant foot is in the back. With a little practice you'll be riding switch comfortably.

To spin a full 360 degrees, just grab the rope behind your back and you will continue spinning. This takes a little more practice, but the key is to keep transitioning your weight. Don't let yourself get pulled over the front of the board.

After practicing your spins with the rope, you should try slashing up and down the wake or spinning without the rope. Or if you're not quite ready for that, try some poses like the fire hydrant, the flash, or the eagle.

Need help with this trick? Visit our wakesurfing forum.