Skurfing is an individual sport similar to water skiing, where competitors ride a surf board while being towed by a boat.

Skurfing is a popular watersport in which participants are towed on a surfboard behind a powered watercraft attached with a ski rope. While popular in many parts of the world, especially in Australia, skurfing has yet to take off in the United States. Skurfing is not a professional sport and has no official competitions. Instead, it has developed as a freestyle sport with highly individualistic style and form. There are two main styles of skurfing, the noseriding style, mostly used by people who surf on a longboard. The alternative is with cutbacks, carves and other turns. A new style of skurfing has recently emerged in the sport where the fins are removed from the bottom of the board. This finless style requires more balance and finesse than having the fins attached. Not having fins limits cutbacks and carving, but allows the rider to spin the board around in a 360-degree rotation.

The goal of skurfing is be towed by a powered watercraft while attached to a surfboard to perform various tricks.

Because skurfing is not an official sport with organized competitions, there are is no official set of rules.

Skurfing was created in the mid 1980s by surfer Tony Finn. Many consider it to be the precursor to wakeboarding.

Powered Watercraft
Surfboard
Tow Rope

Because skurfing is performed in deep water, riders should be proficient swimmers and wear a life vest to ensure safety. Spotters are typically used on the watercraft to keep an eye on the rider and relay communication between the rider and driver.

Initial training centers around learning how to perform a deep water start. Once riders are able to stand, training focuses on being able to balance and sustain a run without losing control and falling. As riders skill level progress, they can attempt to perform a number of tricks; these tricks are based primarily on snowboarding tricks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skurfing_(sport)