Students no longer have to wait for a lazy Sunday afternoon to make it out to the lake.They can join the new wakeboarding organization that will compete against other colleges like Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M and Stephen F. Austin.

Wakeboarding as a sport has been gaining popularity, especially among college students. The sport involves a single wakeboard, like a shorter, broader surfboard, in which the person rides and performs stunts while being towed behind a boat.

Sophomore Ashley Brown started the organization Oct. 13. Wakeboarding will become an official club sport upon approval from TCU’s liability insurance carrier.

“I have been wakeboarding for three years in tournaments and back home and missed being able to when I came to school,” Brown said.

Brown said the team will be enlisted in the South Central Collegiate Wakeboard Conference so it can compete against schools from all over Texas.

“I knew I was really interested in the sport, but I didn’t know if other students at TCU would be also,” Brown said. “Surprisingly, we have had over 30 students interested in the team.

“We will have practices at the Texas Mastercraft dealership in Irving where there is a private lake, and we will have access to the boats.”

Cristie Carpenter, the assistant director of intramurals and sports clubs, said once the wakeboarding team is approved to be a club sport, the members can begin competition.

“Right now, all there is left to do for this organization is go through the process of meetings with me and finish setting everything up so they can be a club sport and not just a student organization,” Carpenter said.

Brown said that once practices start, the team will be able to compete in tournaments against other colleges around Texas.

“In the tournaments, there is usually one female rider, three wakeboarders and one wakeskater,” Brown said. “Wakeskating is close to wakeboarding, but the board doesn’t have feet binding.”

Clint Williams, a sophomore and member of the TCU wakeboarding team, said he enjoys wakeskating more than wakeboarding.

“When you wakeskate, you usually do it behind a jet ski because it is usually faster, and you fall a lot more,” Williams said. “I have been wakeboarding and wakeskating for about five years and was really excited to hear that there was a wakeboarding club starting here at TCU.”

Williams, who just moved to Texas from Utah, said he usually wakeboarded and wakeskated back home but hasn’t since he started school.

“I am ready to get into some tournaments and compete,” Williams said.

For more information, contact Ashley Brown at [email protected].