History
The prototype of the wakeboard was invented by two surfers, almost simultaneously, in 1985. Jimmy Redmon of Texas and Tony Finn of San Diego both made themselves small surfboards, designed to be towed behind a boat.
Finn called his invention a "skurfer," since it was a cross between a surfboard and a water ski. The original generic name was "skiboard," but that was dropped in favor of "wakeboard" to avoid confusion with the snow skiboard.
Skiboards were limited, though, because they were buoyant. Many water skiing tricks depend on a deep-water start, which was impossible on a water skiboard.
The modern wakeboard was created in 1990 by Herb O'Brien, the owner of H. O. Sports, a water ski manufacturer. O'Brien designed a neutral-buoyancy board called the Hyperlite.
Redmon, who founded the World Wakeboarding Association (WWA) in 1989, made the final improvement in 1993, when he developed the twin-tip wakeboard, now the standard.
The WWA has been conducting a professional wakeboarding tour since 1992. It conducts and sanctions both amateur and professional competition, including national and world championships.
