Aug 20 – 24: Shalom Park, Alberta

By: Erika Langman

Aug, 20th-24th Wakeboarders from across the country took over the infamous glassy waters of private ski lake, Shalom Park, for the 2010 Canadian National Wakeboard championships in Edmonton. This is the second time Canadian Nationals has been held at Shalom Park and the Alberta locals really stepped up in the hospitality department to host an awesome event.  Despite the wind and cold temperature, the riders toughed it out and battled in full suits to claim the title of National Champ.

The event started out on friday with the qualifiers for the amateur divisions. There were over 75 riders that came out to sport the flag of their local province, a huge portion of them from the western provinces of BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

Saturday was the finals for the Jr Men’s and Men’s 1 division, and definitely some of the toughest heats to judge out of the entire weekend. Almost everyone in the Men’s 1 division stood up two solid passes, and it was a pretty close battle for first down the sixth place. In the end it was Adam Burwell who claimed the title with his smooth style on rails and constancy on the wake, followed by Craig McMorris stomping some banger mobes, and Justin Anderson landing the biggest 7 of the day. Congrats to Chris Sinkic of Ontario who was just edged out of the semi-finals.

In the Jr. Men’s division it was reigning champ Mark McMorris from Saskatchewan who took home the cake, followed by a new up and comer from Ontario Christian Primrose, and Manitoba Native Jess Polley in third. Robbie McMillen, a top gun on the Ontario Scene took 4th, and Jordan Long also from Ontario rounded up the final in 6th. Congrats boys! We have some future rippers on our hands.

In the Amateur men’s rail division Jordan Long took home his first nationals podium with a solid 3rd place. Robbie McMillen grabbed another 4th place in the Pro Men’s Rail, followed by Christian Primrose in 5th.

In the women’s contest 9 girls qualified to competed in the open. All the ladies rode well and had stand up passes, but in the end it came down to a close battle for first and second between Saskatechwan rider Ashley Leugner and Ontario native Erika Langman. Both girls had stellar passes throwing lots of inverts, back 3s, solid rail riding showing that the ladies can rock it, but it was Ashley who took the cake with her tootsie and toe back 1. 

Last but not least the concluding event of the weekend was the Pro Men’s Semi-Final. Jordan Long and Robbie McMillen both qualified through the quarterfinals taking 3rd and 4th in the second heat. The final consisting of 6 big name riders not only on the national scene, but on the pro tour. Dylan Millar, Mark McMorris, Kyle Rattray, Anthonly Hollick, Rusty Malinosky and Dustin O’Farrell all threw down no less than world class runs hoping for that national title and cash money. Ontario native Kyle Rattray rounded up the podium in a solid 3rd place, with Dylan taking 2nd and the Bone Crusher taking the title. Full results available at www.waterski-wakeboard.ca.

A special thanks to Waterski-Wakeboard Canada and the Gratzfield family for pulling all the strings together to host the awesome event, Wade Habert and the judging crew for surviving the cold wind in the boat all weekend, and Brad Buskas, Mark Gratzfield and the driving crew for pulling riders all weekend. Also a big shout out goes to the event sponsors Roswell Towers, Nautique, Hyperlite, Liquid Force, Ronix, O’Brien, Jet Pilot, O’Neill, Xcel, Dragon, SBC Wakeboard, Waterski-Wakeboard Alberta and Rockstar Energy Drink.

http://dannythollander.com/video/unit-quarter-pipe-at-the-projects.html

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By: Erika Langman

This past weekend the Roots made its way to Gravenhurst, Ontario for the third and final stop of the three event series. It has been awhile since a grassroots Wakeboard event has taken place in the legendary cottage country and it was great to see a huge crew of local riders and spectators out to support the event. The day started off with the future of wakeboarding – the Newbie and beginner boys and girls. There were 22 young guns out there ripping behind Basecamp’s 210 Nautique, including riders as young as four years old. 

As the day moved into the mid afternoon we watched the Open Men battle for not only the series title, but the title of Provincial Champ. Top seeded riders Christian Primrose, Gavin Hicks and Robbie McMillen all won their heats moving them into the leading positions for the semis and finals. At the end of the day it was Robbie McMillen taking home the Samsung Laptop for winning the Provincial gold, and Roots Stop #3 overall series title.

 The Wakeskaters were out in full force, with local pro riders Dan Brown, Mark Enns, Tommy Bailey and Addison Farr rounding up the wakeskate finals. On the ladies side of things local Steph King stepped up the level of intermediate riding taking the top spot, while series leader Ally Boothroyd told the boys what’s up stomping clean shuvs and flat water tricks in the Women’s Wakeskate division. The largest category of the day was the Intermediate Men’s Wakeboard which saw a lot of new talent from all over the province. It was great to see new faces to the series, including Tyler Nicholson who took the top spot, and Logan Enright claiming the series title. Overall the contest pulled 75 riders from eleven categories which is a testament to the growth of wakeboarding in Ontario. 

The day was a success, but it never could have happened without the support of all the volunteers. This year was a building year for grassroots wakeboarding in Ontario and we are excited to see how the series will evolve next year as more sponsors jump on board. A special thanks goes out to Pride of Muskoka and Basecamp for letting us use their loaded wakeboard boats, Off the Wharf and Cabana Boardshop for hooking up the riders with sweet prizes, G&G Electronics for the sound system, Ronix, Hyperlite and Liquid Force for the demo fleets, Metab Clothing for providing the riders with event shirts, Basecamp staff Leslie Sparkes, Scott Duke, Robbie McMillen, Dary Zneble, Mikey Henry, Gordie Lahare for all their help, Eric Snidal at Militia Marketing, Dan Seguin, Jer Eckford, Ally Boothroyd, Jono Boysen, Rem Diagle, Mitch Lowry, Harrison Carter, Andrew MacIvor and everyone who volunteered all their time to make this series a success!! Check out the overall series standings at www.rootswakeboarding.com.

Overall Series Champs:

Beginner Men: John VanGrunsven

Beginner Women: Kristine Tomlinson

Intermediate Men: Logan Enright

Intermediate Women: Ally Boothroyd

Amateur Wakeskate: Laurie Leblanc

Womens Wakeskate: Ally Boothroyd

Open Wakeskate: Brady Hicks

Open Men’s Wakeboard: Robbie McMillen

Roots #3 Results:

Newbie Boys:

Payton Schaley

Zack Ireland

Mike Evans

Shane Brandsetter

Theo Sastruck

Tristian Castelli

Tommy Sastruck

JoJo Sastruck

Beginner Boys:

Jesse Bryant

Dawson McLachlan

Jamie Panter

Payton Schaly

Matt Montgomery

Peter Newstead

Graeme Murry

Mike Evans

9. Remi Diagle

Beginner Girls

Jenn Evans

Kristine Tomlinson

Kaleigh Panter

Michelle Despins

Intermediate Women:

Steph King

Ally Boothroyd

Amanda Robinson

Jenn Evans

Amateur Wakeskate

Dan Seguin

 Christian Primrose

Adam Fairbrass

Kane Gasparotto

Aaron Turek

Russell Braive

Mitch Lowry

Josh Vlaming

Open Men Qualifiers

Heat 1

Christian Primrose

Chris Sinkic

Dylan Rivait

Mike McBreaty

Jake Thompson

Jeremy Eckford

Heat 2

Gavin Hicks

Gordy Lehare

John Eckensviller

Jordan Long

Dary Zneble dns

Heat 3

1.Robbie McMillen

Chad Rivait

Mikey Henry

Andrew MacIvor

Drew Austin

Intermediate Qualifiers

Heat 1

Tommy Bailey

 Will Morris

Cody Bryant

Matt Udon

Logan Rettie

Heat 2

Tyler Koller

Mike Case

Grant Hefferman

Mitch Lowry

Adam Lewis

Heat 3

Tyler Nicholson

Logan Enright

Harrison Carter

Charlie Murphy

Wakeskate Semi-Finals

Heat 1

Dan Brown

Addison Farr

Jeff Braun

Laurie Leblanc

Adam Lewis

Christian Primrose

Heat 2

Tommy Bailey

Mark Enns

Brady Hicks

Dan Seguin

Gordy Lehare

Austin Farr

Open Semi-Finals

Heat 1

Mike McBreaty

Christian Primrose

Dylan Rivait

Chad Rivait

Heat 2

Gavin Hicks

Mikey Henry

Chris Sinkic

Heat 3

Robbie McMillen

Gordy Lehare

John Eckensville

Intermediate FINAL

Tyler Nicholson

Logan Enright

Tommy Bailey

Tyler Koller

Will Morris

Mike Case

Open Skate FINAL

Tommy Bailey

Dan Brown

Addison Farr

Mark Enns

Open Men’s FINAL

Robbie McMillen

Gavin Hicks

Mike McBreaty

WSWO is excited to announce that we will be offering the first Ontario provincial wakeboard training camp for competitive athletes. The camp will encompass both on and off water segments, in an effort to develop an all around athlete. It is our goal to work to develop more national and world champions from our province, thus we have created this training camp early in the season to help to prepare athletes for the 2010 season. The activities will lead to increasing the athlete’s physical conditioning, physical health, mental focus, nutrition, and understanding of the competitive wakeboard industry. The goal is to expose athletes to new skills and training that they do not receive on a regular basis. The on-water portion of the training camp will have a focus on skill development coached by Professional rider and Canadian National Team Member Olivier Derome.

• Who can participate: Competitive Wakeboarders from the province of Ontario
• Date: Friday June 25th – Sunday June 27th (Overnight Camp) 2010
• Host: The Wake Institute, Bobcaygeon, Ontario
• Start Time: 6:00 PM Friday
• End Time: 5:00PM Sunday
• Cost: $375
• Selection Criteria: There are 12 positions available to Ontario riders who wish to participate in the camp. For riders wishing to attend they must fill out the attached Ontario Provincial Training Camp Application. If the demand for this camp is high, selection will be based on the rider’s application, as well as cumulative results from the 2009 Ontario Contest circuit. (Provincials, Wakestock, Nationals). Athletes from all age categories and both genders will be accepted.

Deadline: All applications are due by Tuesday June 1st, 2010

*All participants must be a member of WSWO

*Application forms  and tentative schedules can also be found online at www.onwake.com and www.wswo.com and emailed back to office@wswo.ca

Overview of the Training Camp

This camp encompasses both on and off water training with the ultimate goal of better preparing Ontario wakeboarders for the Provincial and National championships.

The course will include the following:

• An introduction to wakeboard specific dry-land training workouts which focus on all athletic areas (Cardio, Agility, Balance, Core, Flexibility, Strength)
• Nutrition seminars on the importance of proper eating for competitive athletes
• Two on-water sets. Coaching by Pro rider and Canadian National Team member Olivier Derome
• Seminars on how to prepare yourself for competition, an overview of the judging criteria, and how to approach potential sponsorship opportunities
• Athletes and coaches will work together to create a basic year-round training plan, which can be applied to each individual’s lifestyle. A training manual will be provided in which athletes can use as a training resource

Seminar Leaders and Coaches:

Camp Organizer: Erika Langman. Erika is a member of the Canadian National team and has been competing in wakeboarding from a grassroots level to a professional level over the past ten years. She is a head judge for the province of Ontario, and has over 8 years of coaching experience.

Head Coach: Oli Derome. Oli is one of the top ranked professional wakeboarders in the world and will be the taking on the position of head coach for the training camp. Oli has over ten years of experience competing at a professional level, he is also a top ranked Canadian Judge and coach for Pop Wakeschool and the Projects.

Nutritionist and Fitness Leader: Kayle McMillen. Kayle is a member of the Canadian National Wakeboard Team and the 2009 reigning women’s champ. She specializes in fitness and kinesiology and will be leading the dry-land training for the weekend. Kayle will also be coordinating the meals and as well as the nutrition workshop.

Yoga Instructor: Ally Boothroyd. Ally is accomplished in the act of Yoga and will be instructing a class on the physical and mental benefits of Yoga for wakeboarders.

WSWO Representative: Jay Poole. Jay is the current VP of wakeboarding for the WSWO. He is an Examiner for the CWSIC course, a provincial judge, and the owner of the training camp venue.

http://onwake.com/files/Application_Ontario_Wakeboard_Training_Camp.doc

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