Wakeboarding - An Extreme Sport
As the authors of the idea assure, such a park did not exist not only in Kyrgyzstan but also in all of Central Asia. Recently, the well-known "Park of Love" has been divided into two zones: the Western zone for couples in love and the Eastern zone for extremists.
The main organizer of the extreme park, Ivan Kozhevnikov, worked for more than three months to make wakeboarding accessible to any resident of Bishkek.
Wakeboarding is a combination of water skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing. It is one of the emerging sports and recreational activities.
On the territory of the Park of Love, specifically on the water body, a cable has been stretched, allowing people to ride on a board across the water's surface. The course is arranged in such a way that extremists do not crash into the fountain in the middle of the water body.
Several ramps are placed along the riding trajectory, which help perform certain tricks.
The uniqueness of this construction lies in the fact that the park is cable-operated, and movement on the wakeboard across the lake is facilitated by a special mechanism.
Unlike boat wakeboarding, the park uses cable traction that pulls upwards. The length of the cableway is 170 meters. In addition to various wakeboards, the park also has water skis and knee boards.
This is a very good alternative. Now there is something for those who work in the city and cannot go to Issyk-Kul.
Wakeboarding, or wakeboard (often simply called wake, from English wakeboard: wake - wake, board - board) - is an extreme sport that combines elements of water ski slalom, acrobatics, and jumps.
The emergence of wakeboarding dates back to the mid-1980s. The idea of riding on a board using the pull of a boat or a car driving along the shore came to surfers who had to wait a long time for suitable waves. A San Diego athlete, Tony Finn, created a board called the "skurfer" - something between a surfboard, snowboard, and skateboard. In the early 90s, the owner of an American water ski company, Herb O'Brien, improved the invention, achieving "neutral buoyancy" and changing the curve and shape of the board. He put the new product on sale, and soon other manufacturers followed his example.
The evolution of the wakeboard did not stop there: its shape was changed, and various models were invented. At the same time, new tricks were created, and competitions were held. The first world championship took place in 1998, and since then, wakeboarding has been actively developing worldwide.
Wakeboarding is divided into two disciplines: boat wakeboarding and cable wakeboarding (electric traction). In boat wakeboarding, the athlete rides behind a boat, holding onto a rope, and performs various tricks using the running wave and ramps. The athlete's movement on the water is facilitated by a mechanized cable-towing system, replacing the boat.
There are ring installations where movement occurs in a circle (wake parks), and reversible ones, where the athlete can only move forward and backward.
Hours of operation:
Monday - Sunday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Video: Wakeboard Park in Bishkek