Foxton has a new fizz as Off the Loop wakeboard park opens

Foxton is about to be the hottest destination for wakeboard enthusiasts in New Zealand as Off the Loop opens this Saturday.

It's the third cable wakeboard park to open in New Zealand, where boarders get the opportunity to ride two different pools. The longest one is 180 metres.

Off the Loop co-founder Dean Stella said the dream had been in the pipeline for years.

"Like most good things, it started with a beer at the beach," he said.

"When you've got no wind and you're waiting for it to come you start dreaming up ideas."

The park took two years to build. Riders are towed on a rope motorised by cable above them.

"Basically what you've got is a tower at either end of a pond, this one is 180m long and the towers are 9m high. And that cable is pulling a ski rope 9m above water so it's giving you a lot of lift so you can do tricks, hold edges and do railies," Stella said.

The park has been designed for both the beginner and the more experienced wakeboarder.

"Jumping on the rails and the jumps is not for beginners straight away, but we are confident we can get any beginners up and riding," Stella said.

It's been a collaborative operation with fellow co-founders and Foxton residents Glen Butcher and Angela Cook busy helping get the facility up and running.

"We want to do something that's part of the community. We've deliberately named it Off the Loop because [the Foxton Loop] is part of the town and projects that need to happen around here.

"We want to grow the business.

"We'd like to see in the future kayaking up the river loop, and build a small mountain bike track that goes up and over the stock bank and through into the pine trees," Stella said.

"We want to create a place here where it's good for all ages and all abilities and it's just a good place where you might want to hang out for the day."

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