The sport also has huge health benefits including Core Strength, Provides Resistants Training with low impact on joints, and muscle tonnage while burning up to 500 calories per hour. Contrary to popular belief learning these sports has a very low impact on the body when taught the correct way. We highly recommend only using experienced coaches for the first time as the correct position and technique can help build strength and balance, rather than putting the body under unnecessary pressure.
Not only us but parents have consistently fed back to us that children have become more confident, engaging & had a great sense of achievement from their first lesson. This is down to them being able to participate in a sport that not all their classmates compete in, so they can have more of an individual identity that mainstream sports don't offer.
Learning a new sport and becoming involved in the lifestyle has some great benefits as well, the main advantage parents find is that their children want to get off the iPads and become more involved in the lake lifestyle. This weekend we ran a handicapped competition, we saw a mix of ages participate from 12 years old up to 75 years old. However, the best part of the event was seeing those children not quite ready for competition still at the lake helping us gather equipment, getting the next competitor ready and having the confidence to chat with the higher-level competitors to find out how they can get ready for the competition next year.
Our aim is to get more children & families involved in the sport in such a way they see all these benefits, and not come off the water never to return. We try and achieve this is a number of ways:
1. We highly recommend only going to an experienced coach: The first few lessons are crucial to body position and enjoyment, without the correct knowledge participants are at risk of not achieving their goals or not being taught the correct body position.
2. Use the widest ski/board possible, this will give the child more surface area to stand on and more support at the start.
3. Giving an effective dry land lesson to ensure the child has an understanding of what is going to happen next. This also provides time to ask questions and builds confidence.
4. The bar is essential to the first try: It is not only more stable but the coach can talk the child through the movements and has a chance to encourage that vital body position.
5. The first attempt on the rope: Make the rope as short and high as possible, this gives more lift and less resistance on that first try. Even having a parent support them in the water can take that fear away.
6. Lastly, if the child has the correct technique and right equipment the boat will need not much more than idle power to allow them to come out of the water.