Water Sports Activities You Can Enjoy With Your Friends

Water sports are one of the best ways to bond with your friends and family. There is a sport for everybody from the calm and tranquil paddleboarding to the intense adrenaline-pumping action of rafting. In this post, we list some of the best water sports activities to enjoy with your friends. If you are looking for new and exciting things to try out with your buddies, read on.

Swimming

The oldest and the simplest water-sport known to man. Swimming has always been a fun activity you can enjoy solo or with friends. The sport is a popular activity both recreationally and competitively, even gaming a permanent spot in the Olympics. Swimming is known to be an effective full-body workout that tests your endurance and stamina. Due to its popularity, many private and public facilities offer swimming lessons for learners of all ages and skill levels. Swimming is one of the Water Sports Activities for those looking for a great workout.

Freediving

This extreme form of deep diving pushes one’s body to the limits. Free-divers explore the underwater for extended periods underwater without the help of modern breathing equipment. Armed with only dive goggles, fins, and breath-holding techniques, you get to experience life underwater. This is perfect for people who like a fair amount of challenge that pushes their limits to the extreme. Like swimming, this can also be enjoyed solo or with companions.

Snorkeling

Another form of swimming sport, snorkeling, is best done in shallow waters near colorful coral reefs. Snorkeling requires some basic equipment, including snorkeling masks—goggles with a breathing tube⁠, fins, and life vests, especially for beginners. Because of its simplicity and relatively gentle learning curve, this sport enjoys wide popularity around the globe. A perfect water sport for beginners who want to dip their toes into other water activities with little to no adjustment.

Scuba diving

Snorkeling’s more extreme cousin, scuba diving is my favorite water sports activities, Scuba lets you explore underwater without needing to surface for air frequently. This enables you to explore underwater by getting real close to the different marine life. However, unlike snorkeling, scuba diving requires extensive training and certification, which could take time. It also requires specialized equipment like oxygen tanks, re-breathers, fins, and wet-suits, among others. Fortunately, it is a very popular sport with many dive schools scattered across the globe to help you decide the best gear and best areas in the world to dive.

Surfing

Surfing is a surface board sport where you ride the waves using surfboards. This ancient past-time traces its roots to ancient Hawaii, where the natives consider it a sacred activity. Today, surfing has gained popularity earning many fans and enthusiasts all around the world. In surfing, surfers catch waves trying to stay upright while doing various stunts and tricks. Surfboards come in varying shapes and sizes, each for different riding styles and events.

Skimboarding

This is another board sport, much like surfing. But unlike surfing, skimboarding is mostly an activity done near the shores of beaches or lakes. The rider catches smaller waves where they “skim” over shallow water hence the name. The boards are considerably smaller and much flatter and are significantly lighter. Although not as well-known as surfboarding, skimboarding has a rather sizable following worldwide. They even have major international events for the said sport.

Standup Paddleboarding

Yet another board sport that is slowly taking the world by storm. This sport is a mix of kayaking and surfing. Unlike surfing’s fast-paced adrenaline-pumping action, stand-up paddle-boarding or SUP is much more laid back, relying mostly on muscle power to propel the craft. Though evidence of proto-paddle-boarding dates back a few centuries, modern SUP traces its roots to modern-day Hawaii. Today the sport has only seen little change since its inception. Changes were mostly seen on the equipment, such as inflatable versions —of the standard paddle-board designs.

Kayaking

This one needs no introduction. The iconic yellow boats are perhaps one of the most recognizable water sports equipment. Kayaking is a fairly versatile sport. From raging rivers, open ocean waters, to calm lakes and rivers, there is almost no place a single or tandem kayak can’t go. Due to its popularity, kayaking has many prestigious international events, including the Olympics.

Rafting

This extreme sport is perfect for adrenaline-junkies looking for the next thrill. A team of paddlers must navigate treacherous river rapids on an inflatable rubber boat. This extreme sport tests everyone’s endurance, stamina, quick thinking, and teamwork while battling the elements. Unlike most water sports, this activity is exclusively done inland on raging rivers upstream. Though some rafting companies allow you to join on your own where they group you with others, rafting is best experienced with friends making this a great team-building activity.

Wakeboarding

This board sport is a mix of surfing and, surprisingly, a bit of snowboarding. Instead of catching waves like in surfing, wakeboarding relies on the “wake” of the speedboat, which pulls the rider. The specially designed board is controlled by the rider’s feet, allowing them to do complicated and flashy tricks. A new form of wakeboarding has been gaining in popularity lately. Instead of speedboats, riders are pulled by cables powered by pulleys. These facilities, called cable parks, are specifically designed for inland wakeboarding.

Water skiing

Following the trend of board sports crossing into different terrains comes water skiing. This sport takes inspiration from a whole slew of board sports like wakeboarding, skiing, and surfing. Just like traditional skiing, riders use long thin skis attached to both feet. But instead of snow, water skiers ride wakes made by the speedboat that pulls the rider along via wake cable or rope. Unlike some of its cousins, though, this event is relatively new but is steadily growing among water sporting enthusiasts.

Jet skiing

Lastly, a unique sport in a category all on its own. Unlike the previously mentioned activities, jet skiing requires the use of machine powered watercraft. Jet skiing has two major events: freestyle and competitive racing. In freestyle, riders perform various jumps and stunts using ramps where a rider’s technique and balance is tested. Competitive jet ski racing pits riders in a course made of buoys. These races are done mostly inland in lakes specifically chosen for the event.