The Birth of Sport –

In the late 1980’s and early 90’s, towed watersports had become stagnant and was struggling to redefine itself through strange permutations like freestyle slalom and freestyle jumping competitions, as the level of performances in the classic Slalom, Jump, tricks and Barefoot had all plateaued.   At the same time new “Extreme Sports” began popping up all over the sports landscape in the early 90’s.  In fact, the fastest growing sport on the planet was Snowboarding.

While there had been versions of wakeboards in the 80’s (Skurfers, McSki, etc),  the mass appeal of easily riding and carving on the water was really initiated in 1991 with the first Hyperlite compression molded board.  This construction technique is still used today to make boards strong, thin, and neutrally buoyant.    Suddenly, starting up and riding was simple and fun for anyone, not just expert water skiers.  Catching a bit of air was exhilarating.  Showing off and trying new tricks were the natural result.  While waterskiing and wakeboarding were highly specialized, with special tools, specific courses and only 1 observer in the boat, wakeboarding became accessible to everyone on the water.  Loading friends in the family boat to watch the entertainment wasn’t just possible, it was encouraged.  Once they saw it, everyone wanted to try it.  Suddenly a new social, entertaining water sport with mass appeal was born.

Next Week – The Early Influencers – Muskoka’s  position as the cradle of CanadianWakeboarding.