Editing Wakeboarding (section)

==History==

=== Mono Water Ski ===
[[File:Mono Waterski Slalom-course, Cypress Gardens, ca. 1950.webp|alt=a woman riding a mono waterski slalom-course, Cypress Gardens, Winter Haven, Florida, USA ca. 1950|thumb|a woman riding a mono-water-ski on a slalom-course in Cypress Gardens, Winter Haven, Florida, USA, ca. 1950]]
The sport that would later become wake boarding began as [[Water skiing|water-skiing]] with mono water skis (single water skis) in the USA around 1950. The main difference between mono water skis and contemporary wake boards is the shape of the board, the stance and - to a degree - the length of the rope. Waterskiing tends to emphasize keeping clear of the towboats wake and [[whitewater]] and using the calmer water-surface while wakeboarding attempts to use wake and whitewater as artificial wave and surf by using a shorter line. 

==== Surfboards as Mono ski ====
Wake surfing - using surfboards as mono water skis - began picking up traction around 1964, where it was seen as an "exciting new sport that's soon going to sweep the waterways."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Borden|first=Dick|date=April 1964|title=Make the most of your wake... ride it|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P6A9j6aZAo8C&pg=PA100-IA106|magazine=Popular Boating|publisher=Ziff-Davis Publishing Company|access-date=October 1, 2019}}</ref> Although surfboards were originally used, boards without straps or bindings were first seen in New Zealand with boards called "skurfboards".{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} Eventually, wake boards with bindings or straps were sold in Australia under the name "McSkis". Later, another company called "Skurfer" was founded by Tony Finn in 1985,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unleashedwakemag.com/tony-finn-inventor-wakeboarding/|title=TONY FINN {{!}} Inventor of wakeboarding {{!}}|date=2016-12-11|website=Unleashed Wake Mag|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-31}}</ref> named as such due to the board being a cross of a surfboard and a [[Water skiing|water ski]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The History of Water Sports: Wakeboarding|url=https://www.montereyboats.com/news/view/the-history-of-water-sports-wakeboarding/|access-date=2021-04-01|website=www.montereyboats.com}}</ref> The first board made in the early 1990's was the Hyper lite board by the O’Brien company,<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Wakeboarding: How it all got started |url=https://www.groovewatersports.com/blog/history-of-wakeboarding |publisher=Groove vest |access-date=2022-02-15}}</ref> a water ski manufacturer who marketed the board as a “compression-molded neutral-buoyancy wake board.”<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.usawaterski.org/pages/divisions/wakeboard/WakeboardHistory.htm|title=Wakeboard|website=www.usawaterski.org|access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref> This was followed by a variety of boards that are curvier and more compact, creating a smoother ride.<ref name=":0" />

The wake board rope has advanced over the years with improvements in the material makeup. When wakeboarding first started, wakeboarders used ski rope, which was made with stretchy cloth or plastic ropes. The latter soon grew in popularity, and a braided rope made out of [[polypropylene]] was eventually introduced. A few years later{{when|date=October 2019}}, a rope that was less stretchy was invented that gave the rider a more consistent pull on the rope, though they were heavier and larger in diameter. Modern ropes are coated with Spectra and Dyneema, which decrease the stretch and drag of the rope.