Click the image above to view the galleries

We spent the weekend implementing a completely new version of the WakeORIGIN Photo Galleries to make browsing wakeboarding related pictures easier for our readers. Many aspects look similar, but underneath is a new engine to make viewing the galleries faster and more convenience. We also added some new features to the mix, including the most requested upgrade, high-resolution images.

Here are the major improvements we made:

• High Resolution Images: We now offer the option to view the high resolution version of each image where it’s available.
• Paginated Browsing: Instead of loading all of the galleries at once, now only 10 are loaded at a time. That means the page loads a lot faster so you can start looking at wakeboarding pictures sooner.
• Better Navigation: New navigation makes it easier to browse through the photos in an album in order.
• Related Post Link: If the gallery you’re viewing is related to a specific post on the site, a link will appear in the top right corner so you can get all of the information about content the of the gallery.

Start browsing through the new WakeORIGIN.com Photo Galleries now, and let us know what you think.

Drive the video is out (we’ll have a review up soon), and is on its way to being the most popular wakeboard video of the year. If you don’t have a copy yet, we want to hook you up with a free autographed copy of Drive, courtesy of Wakeside.com and BFY Productions.

All you have to do to win is post a comment on this post about why you deserve a free copy of Drive the movie. The winner will be chosen at random, so we aren’t judging the quality of your comment, but it needs to be on topic.

Here are the rules:

• Only one entry per person. That means you can only comment on this post one time, if you comment more than once you will be automatically disqualified.
• This contest is open to residents of the Continental United States (sorry, it’s not by choice).
• Contest ends 11:59PM PST on July 30th, 2008.

We’ll announce the winners within one week of the close of the contest. If you can’t wait until then to watch Drive, you can purchase a copy right now at Wakeside.com. Good luck!

You may have noticed that the site was down momentarily this morning due to some issues with the database. The problem actually stemmed from a spike in traffic that overloaded our server. While that’s a good problem to have, it’s always a pain when WakeORIGIN goes down.

The site is back up though, and we’ve got more of the latest in wakeboard news and information coming your way. We’re worry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience.

Sean Kilgus, BFY Productions, has delivered another masterpiece in DRIVE. This is his follow up film to such titles as Butter Effect, Bent Felix, and Running on Empty. Wake films we all have watched over and over.

The rider line up in this film is ridiculous and includes many of the worlds best. Randall Harris, Rusty Malinoski, Danny Harf, Chad Sharpe, Trevor Hansen, Jimmy Lariche, Ben Greenwood, Gabe Lucas, JD Webb, Jeff McKee, Erik Ruck, and Adam Errington all have sections.

Order your copy from Wakeside.com and check out a short trailer after the jump.

Even though it’s snowing outside right now, it feels like summer is right around the corner and won’t be long until we’ll all be spending time on the water. Over the last week or so, we’ve been doing some spring cleaning to get WakeORIGIN ready for warmer weather and all of the news and excitement that comes with the summer months.

As our regular readers have no doubt noticed, the biggest change we implemented is a new look to the sites layout and a stream-lined navigation scheme. The cleaner layout is a little wider to allow for larger images and easier to read text.

In addition to the new look, we’ve also added some additional features that should make staying on top of the wakeboard industry easier.

• Email Article Features: Located at the bottom of each post is a green button and a link that says “Share This”. Simply click on the button or link and a form will show up allowing you to enter the email address you wish to send the article to.
• New Article Notifications: Stay up-to-date on the latest wakeboarding news by subscribing to our RSS feed in your favorite news reader, or sign up to receive a daily email digest in your inbox.

We also have a number of other changes and feature enhancements that we’ll be announcing in the near future. Our goal is to create the most user friendly website possible to make it easier for wakeboarders to get the latest news and media in the wakeboard industry.

Stay tuned for more announcements about new features coming soon, and if you have feedback about what we can do to make WakeORIGIN better, let us know in the comments.

We spent the weekend upgrading things around here, and among some transparent changes, we’ve also added support for Gravatars. Hopefully this will spice up the comments a little, and allow you guys to make things feel a little more personal.

Gravatars, are Globally Recognized Avatars, and allow you to have one default avatar that will automatically show up on any websites with Gravatar support. You control your Gravatar in one place, and any time you change or update it, that change automatically happens on all sites that support the service.

So go setup your new Gravatar, and then come back and post some comments to see what it looks like.

Regardless of your reasons for celebrating today, we hope you have a great day enjoying the company of family and friends. For much of the Northern Hemisphere, the wakeboarding seasons is fast approaching, so enjoy a weekend off the water.
Happy Easter!

Looking for an easier way to stay informed on the latest happenings in the wakeboard industry? We’ve got you covered with our RSS feed so you can get the latest news delivered directly by your feed reader of choice.

But we realize RSS isn’t for everybody, which is why we’ve added a new email news delivery option so you can get the latest news from WAKEOrigin.com delivered to your inbox every day. To subscribe, click here, and enter your email address. You will then receive a confirmation email to ensure that you do wish to receive updates from us. Follow the instructions in the email and your subscription is all set.

We hope this additional method of receiving our obsessive coverage of the wakeboard industry will make it easier for you to stay informed. If you have any recommendations as to how we can improve the site, let us know in the comments and we will do our best to address them.

Who doesn’t love free stuff? We know we do, that’s why we’ve created a new “Contests” section on WAKEOrigin. Our goal here is to keep our readers up to date on any and all contests related to wakeboarding. We’ll search far and wide to canvas the wakeboard industry and bring any opportunity to win free stuff right to your door.

So if you’re like us, and don’t like paying for your gear, check out our new contest section regularly.

Know of a contest we haven’t posted? Send us the details and we’ll get it up right away.

Good luck winning some free gear this summer!

Our sister site WakeboardNorthwest, which is committed to covering the source of wakeboarding in the Pacific Northwest, just underwent and extensive overhaul and a completely new design. Although both sites have many similar features, we were careful to give WakeboardNorthwest a unique feel, and special sections and design considerations that cater to covering the Northwest wakeboard scene.

Intensive media galleries that focus on Northwest riders and events, exclusive video debuts from Northwest videographers, and inside news from many company representatives are some of the few features you’ll find online now at the redesigned site.

Over the coming months the site will continue to receive new features and additions, so be sure to add WakeboardNorthwest.com to your bookmarks if you want to stay connected to the heart of the wakeboard industry.

Visit WakeboardNorthwest.com