The following is a list of surface water sports; these are sports which are performed atop a body of water.
Discing consists of standing on a circular wooden disc and being towed behind the boat. The disc supports the rider by means of spreading the weight out evenly across the water. It requires good balance, and as a result discing cannot be performed at extremely high speeds, meaning it is sometimes viewed as dull. One form of Discing is to simply do circles at fast speed with the discer trying to hold on as long as possible and seeing how far they can shoot off upon releasing the rope.
Skurfing is a surface water sport in which the participant is towed on a surfboard, behind a boat, with a ski rope. Skurfing is highly popular in the state of W.A in Australia and in many other places in the world. Skurfing is not a professional sport and has no competitions; it is a freestyle sport with highly individualistic style and form. It may be considered the precursor to wakeboarding.
The hydrofoiler is towed by a powered boat; mechanically the person rides a water kite or paravane hydrofoil. Wake energy is used for some jumping. A wakeboard is used to enter the hydrofoiling. This is a hybrid surface sport as it uses the surface of the water and the under-surface and air.
Tubing, also known as biscuiting, is where a large circular rubber tube is towed behind a boat at fast speeds. Generally considered a novice or child's water-sport due to the lack of skill involved. The general aim is to hold on as long as possible without falling off due to the boat's sharp turns; more experienced biscuiters also try to jump the boat's wake and become airborne. Also a very simple and novice trick for beginners would be the barrel roll, once the tube is on the outeredge of a corner going faster than normal, a rider can intentionally roll off the tube to try and roll from upright to upside down and back again all in the same motion.
Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. The rider is usually towed behind a motorboat; typically at speeds of 18–24 miles per hour depending on the water conditions, board size, rider's weight, and rider's comfort speed. But wakeboarding can also be performed with a variety of media including closed-course cables, winches, PWCs, and ATVs.