Following a successful inaugural year, Wake Nation has announced plans to expand for the 2010 season. The Cincinnati, Ohio, cable wake park recently announced that it is adding a second body of water called The Practice Pond, which will feature Rixen’s Little Bro two-tower cable system. The Little Bro system is designed especially for wakeboarding beginners.
The half-acre Practice Pond, which will be located next to Wake Nation’s 10-acre main lake, is designed to give kids and beginners a place to learn to ride a wakeboard at a slower speed. The Practice Pond will have a starting dock on each end, creating an easy “up-and-back” system to facilitate more launch repetitions and generate a faster learning curve.
“The Practice Pond will be a great addition to the entire Wake Nation experience,” Wake Nation CEO Peter Kennedy says. “Its main purpose is to teach kids and beginners how to properly get up on a wakeboard or water skis.”
When a rider is ready to start on the Practice Pond, a Wake Nation instructor will start the overhead cable system and the rider will be gently pulled onto the 250-foot-long stretch of water at a relatively slow speed. Wake Nation instructors will provide coaching and will be able to instantly increase or decrease the speed of the ride to create the ideal learning environment.
At the end of each ride, the cable will stop and the rider will walk out of the lake and get into line at the other start dock for a return trip. Instructors will be on both start docks to provide free tips, pointers, and advice, and riders may also purchase more in-depth one-on-one lessons from Wake Nation instructors.
“We know many of our customers have never wakeboarded before,” Kennedy says, “so we’re always searching for ways to make the learning process faster and easier — and this new system is a great addition to our park.”
Hopefully, the Practice Pond will spur on the next generation of riders to experience wakeboarding for the first time. While the minimum recommended age to ride on the main lake is 10, anyone age 5 or older is welcome to ride on the Practice Pond.
Construction of the Practice Pond will take 2-3 months to complete, Kennedy added. It will be ready in time for Wake Nation’s 2010 season, which begins May 1.
In addition to the Practice Pond, Wake Nation will open its second season with new and improved kickers and obstacles on the main lake to challenge experienced riders. The park will also host a professional wakeboarding event next summer as well as several local tournaments.
For more information, go to wakenation.com.
