Construction Under Way On New Practice Pond At Wake Nation Cincinnati

(Cincinnati, OH) –  They are moving dirt at Ohio’s only cable wakeboarding park…and that’s a good thing!

It means that Wake Nation Cincinnati in Fairfield is in the construction stage of its 2010 expansion project — a second body of water designed especially for kids age 5 and up, and wakeboarding beginners.

The new lake is called “The Practice Pond” and features a Rixen “easy start” cable system designed to give children and beginners a place to learn to ride a wakeboard at a slower speed than on the main lake. The Practice Pond will have a starting dock on each end of the pond, creating an easy “up and back” system to facilitate more “launch” repetitions and generate a faster learning curve.

The Practice Pond will be located adjacent to Wake Nation’s 10-acre main lake, where riders wakeboard, water ski, kneeboard, and wakeskate around the oval lake at speeds of 18-20 miles per hour, pulled by a circulating, overhead cable system that runs 35 feet above the water.

On the Practice Pond, when a rider is preparing for a launch, the cable is not moving (as opposed to on the main lake where the cable is constantly moving at approximately 20 miles per hour.) When the rider is ready to start, a Wake Nation instructor will start the overhead cable system and the rider will be gently pulled onto The Practice Pond water at a relatively slow speed.

Holding onto a ski rope, riders will be pulled across the Practice Pond for approximately 250 feet. Wake Nation instructors will provide coaching and be able to instantly increase or decrease the speed of the ride (depending on a rider’s proficiency) to create the ideal learning environment.

The Practice Pond is targeted to be ready in time for Wake Nation’s 2010 season, beginning May 1. Wake Nation, located in Fairfield’s Joyce Park, opened to rave reviews in May, 2009,  at the time only the 7th cable wake park in the USA. The closest cable wake park to Wake Nation is more than 600 miles away.

During its first season of operation, Wake Nation received numerous awards, including the “Best of Ohio” award from Ohio Magazine and a “Love Cincy” best award from Cincy Magazine.

At Wake Nation, both parking and admission are FREE. The park is a “pay as you play” facility with ride time starting at $25 for two hours. Private lessons, group discounts and parties are available. Season Passes are available now at a discounted price of $525 until April 1 when the price will increase to $550.

Wake Nation will re-open for daily operations on May 1, 2010 and run through October. Hours are 10 a.m. until dark.

For more information go to www.wakenation.com.