Wakeboarding is such a great sport that many people are getting hooked. It provides a new dimension of opportunities where you can express themselves. An exciting sport giving you a whole new excitement, thrills, and fun all rolled into one. Almost anyone can experience this relatively new sports craze.
Getting the right gear together is the first step in wakeboarding. Make a start by knowing the basic equipment essential to wakeboarding. You can get familiar with those by getting in with the riders who have already their own gear. Alternatively there are some great resources online. Here are the basic equipments used in wakeboarding.
Wakeboard Boat
Have your boat modified before even trying to be a wakeboarder. Water skiers and wakeboarders have entirely different goals when it comes to wakes. Skiers, of coarse want no wakes. Wakeboarders want maximum wakes. You'll be surprised how much better you'll be if you give yourself a good wake.
Almost any boat can be a good wakeboarding boat, but if you have a good tournament inboard you can make an especially good wakeboard boat. Ski boats have the ultimate power and handling – all you need is "wake-making matter". Wake-making matter - literally matter that makes wake - is weight. Mostly all serious wakeboarders use a few giant bags of water that they generically refer to as Fat Sacs (which also happens to be a brand name). Two sacs, one on each side of the engine, is a good starting point. That will add about 600 pounds to your boat and at least a foot to your wake. If you find yourself just skipping across the wake like a stone on a pond, you need a bigger wake.
The next key to getting air is using an extended pylon. Most riders refer to these poles as Skylons (also another brand name). An extended pylon can get you good air on your half-cabs by providing a dramatic upward pull with little to no effort on your part. It will give you extra float time to really pop that move and the appearance of hang-time you're searching for. A big wake plus skylon equals real wakeboarder - automatic acceptance on the lake.
Ropes
Wakeboarding ropes made of Spectra, Spectra-Fusion and Tak have zero stretch, look virtually like shoestrings and weigh almost nothing. Nearly all-standard ropes come at 60 feet, which is a full 15 feet shorter than a ski rope, but can be custom-ordered to accommodate longer lengths.
Boards
Wakeboarders have their own boards. Like lawmen of the Old West had their own guns, you come to the boat all set - with your own board. Don't settle for the group board. It'll never feel quite like yours, and with the definition in styles today, you'll look like a kook riding your buddy's Mini Squirt if you weigh 100 pounds more. Also, the more you want to be a wakeboarder, the newer the board you should ride. Models get outdated quickly and so will you. New school rules!
Boots
It is not recommended to share boots just like sharing boards. You wouldn't wear your buddy's Air Jordans would you? And don't think that surf-straps are acceptable 'cause they're adjustable. They are antiquated relics, and unless you're doing tow-ins in Hawaii, you'll look stupid. Real wakeboarders wear boots, preferably high-tech models like the CWB Vert boot and Fulltilt XTC (very futuristic), custom boots like Bad Ass Bindings or Wiley's or top-of-the-line Hyperlite Storm Troopers or Liquid Force Super Suctions.
It is important to have them all if you're really serious to being a real wakeboard rider.
Niall has been wakeboarding for 2 years and enjoys combining foreign travel and wakeboarding. Visit Wakeboarding Supplies for news, views and information about wakeboarding. http://www.Wakeboarding-Supplies.info
This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. All rights reserved. Copyright Wakeboarding-Supplies.info
OLN's Playoff Hockey Coverage Doesn't Make the Cut
OLN's Playoff Hockey Coverage Doesn't Make the Cut
Like many hockey fans, I was just happy that hockey was back this year. I didn't care that ESPN didn't renew their TV contract with the NHL - I figured OLN might have a few hiccups, but overall they would do fine. I was wrong. OLN has been a disaster all season long and it's not getting better.
I understand that they have never done the NHL before and that they only had a few months to hire announcers, camera crews, build a set, etc. But the worst part about it is that they haven't been improving and learning from their mistakes. The broadcasts are still as mediocre as they were on opening night.
After watching the opening weekend of the 2006 NHL Playoffs, here are my thoughts:
The camera angles are mediocre at best. The camera for the first 10 minutes of the Red Wings vs. Oilers Game 1 was zoomed out to the point where I could see the entire ice. This would be great except for the fact that it's IMPOSSIBLE to see the puck or read a jersey number (and no, I'm not watching on a 13" TV). They fixed it a few minutes later, but are these the things that we should have to deal with in the post season? Shouldn't they have figured out how to film a game at Joe Louis Arena during the regular season?
Jack Edwards should not be doing play-by-play for nationally televised playoff games. I miss the days of Gary Thorne/Bill Clement and Steve Levy/Darren Pang on ESPN and ESPN 2.
Speaking of Bill Clement, he's not a studio guy, he's a color commentator. Next season please find a studio guy so you can move Clement back to the booth where he belongs.
It's not OLN's fault, but not having another network (i.e. ESPN 2) hurts the fans. We used to get to watch two playoff games at once, now we get one.
The score takes up far too much of the screen on top. Do we need to see gigantic logos of each team at all times? All that does is eat up space and force OLN to put a black bar across the top of the screen so the logos can fit, wasting more space. Good luck trying to find the puck when score updates and advertisements pop up (which is quite frequently) eating up even more space.
With two minutes left in the Red Wings vs. Oilers Game 1, with the score tied at 2, the camera cut out…for at least thirty seconds. This is unacceptable. Period.
Game two of the double header on Friday, Anaheim vs. Calgary, was 'bonus coverage', i.e. OLN just broadcasted CBC's feed. Weak guys, weak. What, you can't afford to send out more than one camera crew a night? Maybe the NHL should have given coverage to a network that could handle it (of course, if the NHL didn't demand so much money from ESPN we wouldn't have this problem in the first place).
And that was only the first weekend of coverage. It's going to be a long playoff season…
Adam McFarland owns the SportsLizard.com Network - a network of sports sites including collectibles, movies, books, video games, and more.
SportsLizard.com was recently awarded honorable mention in the Microsoft Start Something Amazing Awards.
RC Car Racing - The Basics
For a beginner, the sheer amount of brands, varieties and specs of RC vehicles can be overwhelming. There are literally hundreds of types of RC cars and trucks, all with different engines, performance levels and completely customizable details. This puts hobby quality RC cars on a whole different level than toys and replicas, and is what makes them so much more interesting and exciting to play with.
While the actual mechanics of how each RC vehicle works can vary greatly from one to the next, the basic principles remain the same. Once you understand how RC cars work, you'll have a better idea of just what's involved, and which one would be right for you.
There are four main parts to an RC vehicle:
• Transmitter: This is the control you hold in your hand, usually powered by a 9-volt battery. Using radio frequencies, the transmitter relays the steering and control commands you give it to the receiver.
• Receiver: There are two parts to the receiver- an antenna and a circuit board inside the car. The radio frequencies sent by the transmitter are picked up by the receiver and relayed to the various appropriate parts of the vehicle.
• Motor(s): RC cars and trucks feature a variety of different types of engines, all with varying degrees of difficulty and output. The motor is often said to be the heart of the RC car and is the most intricate part of building your own RC.
• Power Source: Of course power is needed for acceleration, steering and overall engine output. Aside from the 9-volt battery in the transmitter, the power source depends on the type of car: electric cars run on rechargeable, replaceable battery pack while nitro cars use a fuel mixture similar to what runs a real car.
What does RC Stand For?
If you're new to RC it can often be confusing just what is meant- radio or remote control cars. Though the two are often used interchangeably, this is incorrect; they are not the same thing at all, since the way they transmit signals is completely different. You can spot a remote control car by the wire connecting the controller to the car itself. Radio control vehicles, on the other hand, use radio frequencies to send messages from the steering controls on the transmitter to the receiver in the car.
There are FCC regulations for all consumer electronics that use radio frequencies, in order to properly allocate the frequencies on the band without too much interference. Usually RC vehicles operate at 27MHz or 49MHz frequencies- the same as your walkie talkie or garage door opener. More advanced RC models like planes require a higher frequency, and are regulated to 72MHz or 75MHz. Always consult your manual to make sure you're using the correct frequency, and for instructions on how to change frequency.
As long as you're running your RC by yourself, all you need to do is follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to choose the correct frequency for your vehicle. But when it comes to race time or even just practicing with friends, you'll need to make sure every one has their own frequency or the signals will get crossed. If you're at an official race, the organizers take care of this by providing each racer with a specific frequency and a flag with which to mark your car. In order to avoid crossed signals, you'll need to make sure when practicing that you follow a similar process.
Cal Golden is an avid RC car enthusiast and webmaster of the RC Car Station. Race on over and find out why rc cars are taking the hobby world by storm.RC Car Station
