The economics of wakeboarding in New Zealand are such that Tauranga athlete Darren Bishop has spent the past few winters in sunny Florida in an attempt to keep up with the world's best.
"This is my fifth summer in a row, so it's been a few years," Bishop said.
"It's good, but bad for the nose. It's burnt continuously."
His most recent trip in preparation for the world championships was spent at Texas cable parks before heading to the US's wakeboarding mecca.
"Over there, you just walk out the door to the lake and the boat is ready to go - you don't have to tow it an hour away.