Though there appears to be a lot of similarity between the two water rides, wakeboarding and water skiing are two completely different sports.

The most obvious difference between the two sports is in the nature of the ride itself. Water skiing is an original sport in itself whereas wake boarding is a blend of surfing, snow boarding, skate boarding and of course water skiing. In water skiing a person uses skis to ride the waters while being pulled along by a moving speed boat. Wake boarding also includes being towed around by a speed boat but it includes features also common to surfing, snow boarding and skate boarding.

Water skiing is generally a sport involving the simple pleasure of skiing on water. It is not concerned with jumping wakes and riding waves. In fact the smaller the waves, the better it is. Wakeboarding on the other hand is a sport based on the thrill and excitement of jumping the wakes created by the boat and thus the size of the waves play a huge factor here.

The equipment and gear used in both these sports are again entirely different. Wake boarders use a board much like a surf board but include foot straps and fins for better balance over waters while a water skier uses the traditional water skis for riding on water. Wake boarders make use of a single board at a time whereas the number of skis used by a water skier will depend on the type of skiing being done.

Boats used for these two sports will also vary as the very nature of the two rides seems diametrically opposite. A water skier's tow boat can be any simple boat but the wake boarders need to use specially designed speed boats. The boats used for wakeboards have increased weight at the rear to create higher and steeper waves. The wake board boats have increased weight at the rear to create larger wakes. Other techniques are also used to lower the stern which will give rise to higher waves. Most manufacturers spend a lot on R&D for new knowledge in further weighing down the stern as a means to create higher wakes for wake boarding.

Ropes - a key equipment used for these rides also have contrary features. A water skier's rope has to have a good deal of stretch and flexibility while wake boarders need ropes that have minimum elasticity as the stretch factor proves a disadvantage when contemplating jumps over the waves.

OK, so much for the differences between water ski and wakeboards.