Wakesurf guides
How to get up on a wakesurf board, every time
Emma Galusha#3 world ranked, pro women's skim · Elevate coachAugust 2026 · 6 min read
The getup is where every wakesurfer starts, and it's where most first-day frustration lives. Here's the good news: done right, it takes almost no strength. The boat does the lifting. Your job is to set up correctly and stay out of its way.
This is the same getup we teach on the boat, step by step, plus the three falls we see from almost every beginner — and what each one is telling you.
The getup, step by step
- 01
Set up in the water
Lie back with the board floating flat and your heels resting right on its near edge. Back foot close to the back pad, front foot forward, feet a touch wider than shoulder width. The closer your heels sit to the edge, the easier the board flips up to your feet.
- 02
Two hands on the rope, arms straight
Straight arms are the whole trick. The rope is a tow bar, never something you pull on. Lock that in now — it matters more than everything else on this list.
- 03
Drive your heels as the boat pulls
When the line goes tight, push your heels down. The board flips up flat against your feet. This is the key step: heels down, board to feet.
- 04
Push the board away and stand tall
Use your legs to press the board away from you. It flattens onto the water, and the boat pulls you up to standing. You're not jumping up and you're not hauling on the rope — you're letting the pull stand you up.
- 05
Cut outside the wake straight away
Linger behind the boat and you'll get stuck on top of the forming wave, which usually ends in a fall. As soon as you're standing, edge out to your side of the wake, arms still straight.
- 06
Fix your feet
Getting up heels-on-edge leaves your feet off-center. With two hands still on the rope, look down and scoot your toes across until each foot is centered on the traction pad.
- 07
Arms to a T
Drop your back arm so your arms make a T. It opens your shoulders and pulls you out of that closed-off, hunched first-timer stance, so you can stand upright facing the wave.
- 08
Shift weight to your toes and feel the slack
Weight on your heels keeps the rope tight. Bring it onto the balls of your feet and the rope softens as the wave starts pushing you. That slack is the signal you're nearly ready to ride without it.
The three falls every beginner makes
You fell backwards.You pulled the rope in. It's the most common mistake we see, and you'll probably make it a couple of times. The moment you bend your arms and pull, you tip back and sit down in the water. Straight arms, from the first pull to well after you're outside the wake.
You fell forwards. Your legs straightened and your waist folded, so the boat tugged you over the nose. Keep the bend in your knees and bring your hips up as you rise.
You got up, then fell at the wake.You stayed behind the boat too long. Cut out to your side as soon as you're standing, before the wave builds under you.
The stance that sets up everything else
Wakesurfing lives in your hips. Keep them upright and forward, with your shoulders, knees, and toes stacked in one long line and your chest up, facing the wave. Folding at the waist pushes you away from the wave and kills the push you're about to need.
From that stance, weight on your toes, rope slack in your hand, you're ready for the next milestone: handing the rope to a spotter, or tossing the slack line across to the far side of the wake, and riding the wave on its own.