Rider Information

We really do wish riding with us was as simple as heading down to the dock and sticking out your thumb. Unfortunately, these days nothing is that simple, but we do everything possible to make it easy for you to come and enjoy the ride.

Below is a stack of information that should cover everything you need to know to ride in one of our events. Of course, if we have missed something or you have a question that no one has ever thought of, all you need to do is ask.

Membership

Step number one to riding with us is a membership package. Being a Wakeboard Victoria member is completely optional, but signing up with WAWA (Waterski and Wakeboard Australia) isn’t.

Wakeboard Victoria

A Wakeboard Victoria membership doesn’t just give you automatic entry to every single competition we hold throughout the season, it saves you some coin while doing it! We also make sure you get priority access to all other Wakeboard Victoria events throughout the year. And for the icing on the cake, we’ll even rustle up a bit of a merch pack for you to wear with pride all summer long!

Waterski and Wakeboard Australia (WAWA)

WAWA is the national governing body for all disciplines of waterskiing and wakeboarding across Australia. They’re not just the ones who sort out our insurance, they’re the backbone of our sport’s structure, safety and legitimacy. WAWA membership is an absolute non-negotiable if you want to ride with us, because it ensures you’re covered not only for personal accident and liability insurance, but also under the broader protections and policies that support sanctioned events, coaching and club operations.

The beauty of WAWA membership is that it’s national. Whether you’re competing in Victoria or heading to a sanctioned event in Queensland, your membership travels with you. It’s designed to support riders, officials and clubs across all states and territories.

And yes, it covers far more than just insurance. The membership structure includes:

• Access to sanctioned events nationwide
• Coverage under WAWA’s National Insurance Program, including personal accident, public liability, professional indemnity and association liability
• Legal defence support for accredited coaches, officials and incorporated bodies under specific policies
• Governance and compliance support through WAWA’s constitution, member protection policies and safety standards
• Recognition and development pathways for athletes, volunteers and officials

Without it we pretty much don’t exist.

Competitions

Wakeboard Victoria run around five competitions each season. We try to make sure that every competition caters to all levels of riding, meaning it really doesn’t matter how experienced or talented you are, you will have an opportunity to ride with or against people at the same level as you. We’ve also focused on making every event easier and more affordable to come to. Below you will find plenty of information on what you need to know when you ride in one of our competitions. Of course, nothing is stopping you from just registering and rocking up on comp day, but if you are after more details keep reading.

Registration

We’ve worked hard over the past few years to make registering as easy as possible. To begin with, before you can ride with us you must be an WAWA member. This involves heading to their website and following the links to sign up or renew. Click here to sign up now. The process is really simple and there are a bunch of membership options on offer. If you are planning on riding all season it’s best to sign up as a full member, but if you aren’t really sure if you want to make that commitment you can ride your first comp on a Social/Day Membership.

Once you’ve got your AWWF Membership sorted, riding with us is as simple as logging in to the Event Management System (EMS) and choosing the event you are wishing to compete in.

Ability Based Divisions

Most grassroots events now run on an ability-based format, which groups riders by the tricks they can perform rather than their age. This approach has proven to be incredibly welcoming, especially for new riders, because it allows everyone to progress at their own pace and compete alongside others with similar skill levels. It’s all about celebrating progression, not just age brackets.

For our State Titles, we follow an age-based format in line with the Wakeboard Australia Boat Rules. This structure ensures consistency across all states and aligns with the qualification pathway for National Titles. Both formats play an important role in supporting rider development and keeping our events fair, inclusive and future-focused.

As an overview, the ability-based divisions are:

PLUS and this is the big one, if a rider progresses to a higher ability-based division, they cannot move back down. This stops riders moving and changing categories for many reasons.

State Titles

For the State Titles (and National Titles) the divisions we run are Under 9, Under 14, Under 18, 19-29, Over 30 (Masters), Over 40 (Veterans), Open and Adaptive. These divisions are run separately for men and women.

Nationals have the same categories as States but have an additional ‘Junior Pro Division’. It’s like an Opens division but for under 18’s. This division is only available at National level events, e.g. Nationals and the Australian Open Series. 

The course

When you ride at a Wakeboard Vic competition the course will be laid out with two end buoys and another buoy around the middle of the course called the three-quarter buoy. You’ll get two complete passes through the course where you will be judged on any tricks you perform within the course end buoys. You’re allowed one fall where the boat will come and pick you up, on your second fall the boat will head on back to the dock to pick up the next rider. The only exception is if your first fall is after the three-quarter buoy on the second pass. From here it’s deemed that the boat won’t have enough time to get back up to speed so the pick up boat will come and take you back to the dock.

Judging

Your ride will be judged by three judges sitting in the boat. They are looking at three categories for each rider composition, execution and intensity – which all have equal weighting on your final score. To keep it simple this is what the judges looking for in each category.

• Composition – How well you mix your tricks up. Judges want to see more than just a pass full of inverts. Throw some spins, hit the wake toeside and event switch for good composition.
• Execution – How well you perform your tricks. Examples of good execution would be grabbing your tricks, landing cleanly and putting your own style into the tricks you perform.
• Intensity – How hard you go at the wake, the height of your tricks, and you take your tricks way out into the flats, you will get good intensity scores.

On the day

We will run a riders briefing for all competitors at about 8.30am and the first rider off the dock will usually by at 9am. A run sheet will be posted first thing in the morning giving you plenty of time to figure out when you ride and get yourself sorted down at the dock. It’s best to get to the dock about 10 minutes before you are scheduled and sort out all your gear, especially your rope, so we can get through all the riders as quick as possible.

Ride Days

A ride day or camp works a little differently to a competition. They are a lot more relaxed when it comes to registration and other requirements. If you’re keen to get to one of the ride days we have planned, the best bet is to get in touch with us or stay tuned to the event page. All you need to know is what time to show up and how much each ride will cost.