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tactics. Riders putting the pressure on, others holding back; good riding all round. Last Chance Qualifiers for those not going straight through, with some going out after that.

others after me so need to land everything I can. It rarely goes as planned. Fall on second to last trick at the end of the first pass, and so I miss the last trick too. Good start to second pass but fall again, fourth trick. Game over; here comes the rescue boat again to take me back. Watch others; and know I’m beaten. Congratulate other riders as they come in, then quick stretch down.

Freshen up again, then dinner. Some of those not riding hit the bar hard (and the mic too!), with a few stars spangled, but tomorrow’s riders head home to bed for an early night, mostly..

Early again, and time now to watch some of the country’s best wakeboarding. The weather’s brought out a good local crowd. What a spectacle.

FINALS DAY

The forecast has changed. The rain has chosen to stay away. Replaced in the afternoon by sunny spells [and a Spitfire and Lancaster flypast]. Sun’s out; big guns out.

And what riding it was. All categories, youngsters – the stars of the future - as well as us older generation, and the nation’s best, the open categories. Live feed going out but this would make such good TV too. So good to watch. Everything in wakeboarding is harder than it looks and these guys have put in hours of work

It’s all down to this. One run up and down the lake, throwing down the best tricks I can. Planned my run, mixing some of the good stuff from qualifying with some of the good stuff from practice. Second off the dock, I don’t know what’s to come from

to get their riding looking this good. Inverts, grabs, spins, high enders all over the place. And then to results. I suspect I’m off the podium but who knows. Board ready just in case. Tony Snelgrove 3rd, Mark Goldie 2nd, Brett Hodgkins 1st. 4th. Oh well, not beating the old master today. Who knows on Open Men? The standard was insane. Certainly the best and closest final I’ve seen with the top five all throwing the hammers down. Such a high standard of riding and so good to watch. Drum roll… it goes to Luca Kidd, [16 ] years old, first place in his first year up from Junior Men. That’s nuts.

And for the double up contest after the main event. Big tricks. And some of the biggest falls too. More prizes. Dan Nott takes it: TS 720 MC Dan Williams, who did a sterling job on the mic all weekend, thanked the hosts (Castle WaterSki Club & Tattershall Lakes Country Park) the officials (without them the event could not happen and the sponsors: Malibu Boats, Jobe Watersports, Extreme Gene, The Quays, COW, LDB Wakeschool, Over for another year, but yes, what a weekend. Oh, I just love this sport.

Open Ladies… goes to “KTB” Katie Bachelor but not landing her wrapped roll to blind meant Best Trick went to Charlotte Millward for her peachy front roll.

What up Fred! Here’s an easy one to get your question answering muscles warmed up: what’s your age, home park and current location? I’m 21 years old, riding at Liquid Leisure cable in Datchet, currently living in Chertsey.

You’ve also spent a lot of time riding down here at Liquid Leisure and this year’s setup for Plastic Playground was pretty crazy, did you have a favorite feature out there? Yeah my favorite feature this year has been the transition curb into the tech series rail, it’s so fun to boost out of the curb and into the transition.

You’ve been sending it at Plastic Playground for a good few years now, what’s your favorite thing about the comp and did you have any favorite moments or riders from this year’s event? The best thing for me is that Plastic brings all the top riders together and everyone has to push their limits as the set up just gets crazier every year. What stands out for me is when people take risks with different lines and hits. Favorite moment for me was when I went off the dock for one of my runs and as soon as I hit the water I felt like I was going so fast….. turns out that the cable was doing 36kph !! Haha thanks Rocco!

How do you keep it fun on and off the water? On the water I keep it fun by trying new things all the time, new lines, new ways to hit the rails and do different things rather than keep doing the same things lap after lap! Off the water I like to keep myself active and stay relaxed. We know you like a spot of fishing and golf, so question 1. When did you become such an old man?! … And 2. Do you find those sports help your riding in any way? Haha!! Well I started playing golf when I was about 10 but I’ve just recently gotten into fishing so I would say I’m a newbie old man! I find they do help me in a way where I can still keep active with things and get away from the cable.

You’re always a favorite of ours to watch with a riding style that blends tech rail tricks with absolutely charging the kickers, is there anyone or anything that inspires your riding? There is one person that sticks out to me for inspiring me to ride and its Dan [Grant]. When I watch him absolutely charge at the kickers and send a double grab back 5 going bigger than anyone else and just riding away like nothing, it just makes me want to go out there and charge at the kickers myself.

You’ve been part of the UK wakeboard community since you were super young (and WAY smaller), what’s the best thing about the UK scene and why should people come and ride here? The best thing about the UK wakeboard scene is that all the riders get along with each other, there is never any tension between cables or crews or anything, everyone just wants to ride and push the sport in every way!

We know that you & Dan, plus a few other homies, have been spending a bunch of time together out in Thailand, what’s the vibe out there and are you guys all pushing each other or just straight chilling? The great thing about being in Thailand is just getting up to ride and hang out without the distractions of fitting riding around work or British weather. It’s one of the nicest cables in the world to ride with a lake full of plastic too! It also helps that we have such a solid crew out there! We have a pretty strict routine every morning getting to the cable for open to get the GoPro laps done. With everyone out there riding at the same time we are always pushing each other!

Any shout outs? Massive shout out and big thanks to DUP Wakeboards for supporting me! Without them I don’t know where I would be! I would also like to thank you (Nick) at BRO! always hooking me up with the best clothes going! The warmest jumpers and the snazziest designs! Always a big shout out to everyone who helps me out throughout the year! All my boys too, you know who you are!

wakeboarding season I have the snow season to look forward to and vice versa –love both worlds! I want to do both for the rest of my life! Riding in the UK or Vive La France? Vive La France as there are so many more cable parks around, with a mixture of Unit and really good handmade rails that are a lot of fun (Weather tends to be better too!)

AH! Monsieur Le Boobie, what brings you to the UK mon ami? Bonjour Mr le Nick! I’ve been coming back to the UK over the summer since I can remember, mainly to catch up with the English family and in the last three years been making it over for a couple of comps. So a mixture of business and pleasure! You threw down some hammers out at Plastic as well as a few creative tricks that we don’t see many of. Did you have favorite feature out there and was there a stand out rider for you? The general level at Plastics was amazing, it gets better and better every year. It’s hard to say who stood out the most for me but Victor Salmon and Matty Muncey’s riding was insane. The whole set-up was super fun, my favorite feature would have to be the ‘Wake the line’ rail – endless lines and possibilities on that rail.

You’ve traveled a fair bit with wakeboarding, do you have a favorite place to ride? I love riding at TNS 73 as the spot is amazing surrounded by the French Alps, the park itself is super fun and you can always count on good vibes. Do you have a favorite French phrase that you’d like to teach our non-francophone readers? ‘On est pas sorti de l’Auberge!’ (Said with a very strong Savoyard accent)

You’re a super fun rider to watch with some really creative tricks in the bag, is there anything or anyone that inspires your riding? Cheers mate. I think I like to mix both French and English riding together, they both have their own styles. I also have the chance of spending the winter in the French Alps, so snowboarding inspires me a lot. I have to admit that my bro Sam has got me pumped and inspired to wakeboard more than anyone, cheers Sambo !

…And that means? It doesn’t really have a translation it’s a “saying” but it kind of means “we ain’t out of the shit yet“. Any shout outs you’d like to throw out there? Shout out to Hyperlite, TNS 73, Ion, bro! clothing and of course I need to thank the parents and everyone else who helps me out doing what I love.

How do you keep it fun on and off the water? The people who you ride with and chill with are what makes this sport so awesome. Surround yourself with a good bunch of friends who enjoy riding and trying new things on the water as much as you do and you’ll be hooked.

Well, that was a fun catch up! And I guess that about wraps it up from the boys and myself… Be sure to keep a look out for the bro! team tearing up a cable park near you this year they’ll be the ones keeping it fun with big smiles on their faces, sending it hard both on and off the water. Check out the full bro! range at brocerystore.com and be sure to get yourselves down to Liquid Leisure for a ride in their feature-packed fun park! At the time of writing the Liquid Leisure crew have just announced that they’ve secured yet another awesome obstacle to add to their already incredible set up; they’ll soon be taking delivery of the Munich Mash signature UNIT feature from this year’s competition, get down there and check it out! Happy shredding!

Alright, time for some quick fire questions: English Breakfast or French style (CROISSANTS FOR DAYS)? Nothing beats a full English Breakfast, sorry frogs! Sunday Roast or Fondue? Now this is a hard one…but growing up in Savoie where Fondue was created, I have to go for the cheesy heaven. We know you like a bit of skiing and snowboarding in winter time, soooo… Mountains or Lakes? Can’t make a decision on that one. When I’m over with the

MUNICH MASH through the eyes of

Felix Georgii Name: Felix Georgii Age: 24

Town: Allgäu, Southern Germany Stance: Goofy Homespot: The Bricks, Inselsee Allgäu, Turncable Sponsors: Red Bull, Liquid Force, Ride Engine, Sesitec, Unit Parktech, Pullin

Felix has been a Ger man pro wakeboarder for m a ny ye a r s n ow. H e i s s p o n s o r e d by R E D B U L L and Liquid force and he has won the Bes t Tr ick P r iz e dur ing th e s e c o n d e d i t i o n o f t h e M unich Mash with his Mute Cab 540 One Foot…! On my way to Munich I got a call from the UNIT guys. They asked me if I could check on the Mash setup. Nico von Lerchenfeld, who was supposed to check in, couldn’t make it in time due to a car break down. I wasn’t excited at all because last year’s setup needed so much adjustments before it finally worked. As soon as I arrived, Dom Hernler and I went to the wakeboard setup and we were ready to do the first couple hits on the mega ramp. We were both a little bit scared, but as soon as we both hit it one time we knew that all the adjustments that

Unit did on this year’s setup were really good. The setup didn´t need many changes. The kickers and landing ramp were perfect and everyone could do their best tricks. As soon as the contest was on everybody killed it, and it was an intense qualification round. I was pretty stoked to make it to the quarter finals. On Sunday during practice it was raining really bad and I wasn’t really motivated to try anything. But as soon as I started trying my Cab 540 with one foot I knew that trick was going to work for me. After practice the weather started to clear up and the crowd started to come to the site. Everyone was hyped because the sun was out and there were so many spectators. It was a fantastically fun contest and all the riders killed it. I was lucky enough to take home best trick with my Mute Cab 540 One Foot.

D O MI N I C K H ER NLE R

Â© Lior sofer

James

Boggia By Phil Sirech

James Boggia is a famous OZ r ider traveling the wor ld to pursue his passion. He spends most of his year in the Phiippines. He assists the Filipino team with their training, teaches the Filipinos new talents, and helps grow the spor t in this area of the world.

then make another new edit on their sick new rails they have installed. That will nearly bring me to the end of 2017. Already planning for 2018.

Hi James, can you introduce yourself in a few words? My name is James Boggia. People also know me as Boggia or JP because of my Insta name @jpboggia. I’m 25 years old, born out of the UK, but spent half my life within Australia.

What is the best event you dream to be a part of? I really would like to try LAO, FISE and Plastic Playgrounds since I have only ridden in World titles and LF rail jams. The obstacle lines at all the events lately are looking like so much fun with so many lines to choose from, any would be a pleasure to go to. I guess the one that stands out and would make me feel like I’ve achieved a bit of my dream would be the Shredtown Jamboree. Each year I always look at it and would love to take part. Stuff can really go wrong if you mess up in anyway and that scary factor always attracts me. The Valdosta Yardsale looked dope as well. Getting invited to an invitational event would definitely be high on my list.

When did you start Wakeboarding and Why ? I started Wakeboarding just over a decade ago. I lived on a boat while living in Hong Kong in my early years and had always been attracted to any kind of watersports. After moving to Australia my Dad decided to take me to Bli Bli cable on the Sunshine Coast Australia. As soon as I saw it I never wanted to do anything else. Love at first sight I guess you could say haha. Where is your Home Spot? Bli Bli was my first home cable and my riding there was getting the attention of other riders such as Scotty Green, Daniel Pyne, Justin Abbott and the other top riders from Bli Bli. While always moving and searching for new experiences Cairns cable was my second home riding with Busty Dunn and Sam Gunn. I then moved to CWC to work as the head coach for two years and rode with all the main boys on the circuit. I have loved every cable I have been welcomed to and I guess they are all my home.

Do you have any plans to compete this year & what is your schedule for this year? WWA Worlds will be next at CWC at the end of September. I am planning in 2018 to get to LAO, FISE and Plastic Playground. I’ll be working my ass off with riding and fitness to try get better each day and hopefully more opportunities will come up so I can add them in to my 2018 season.

Can you tell us more about your 2017 season, any plans ? I have just released my latest edit from CWC “RAW” from my stay there. I’m currently on a fitness course at the best gym in Asia“Unit 27 Phuket Thailand”. Getting my body ready to take some hard hits and crashes for my up and coming edit in USA filming with JB Oneill next month. After that I’ll be going back to CWC to train and compete in the 2017 WWA worlds

In your opinion is wakeborading a lifestyle, a sport, or both? It’s definitely both for me. I love rocking up to a cable to ride with my mates and have fun but since I’ve started taking it more serious I love trying to have a structure and goals with each set. If it’s to work on a new trick or put all my main tricks in a line to get more consistent. I always go out with a goal

in mind and try my hardest to achieve that goal. Where is your favorite place to live ? I’ve always loved Asia to be honest. I lived in Hong Kong for seven years as a young one and I guess that has stuck with me. I love the CWC scene, meeting all the new people and of course riding the best park in the world. I also like spending time in Phuket for the fitness and diet side of riding on the off season. You told us that you were going to leave the Philippines for a while. Can you tell us more about that? I have already left the Philippines so I can get my fitness to its peak. So I will be stronger than I’ve ever been. I am trying to make sure I have less chance of injury which is a common hazard of riding. I’ll definitely be going back to ride there for a chunk of time each year but I have other filming goals and events I would like to explore like I have stated before. Do you prefer riding boat, cable or both? I’ve tried boat and what some of the guys can do behind boat is sick. I prefer riding cable for the fact you can change your line up each lap with hitting obstacles rather than just wake to wake. I guess it’s just like some people like street, and some people like pipe riding. Two different sides but both make wakeboarding what it is today. What is your best memory as a coach? I have so many to be honest. It’s weird I get the same feeling seeing

one of my students land a trick they have been getting punished on as I do when I land something for the first time. Knowing my input and knowledge has helped someone land a new trick is a great feeling. I just like sharing my knowledge to get results for others just like I do myself. I want to see wakeboarding grow more and more each year and I feel that’s how I can do my part for the next generation. What is your best memory as a Pro-rider? My best memory is probably winning my first Pro event in one of the rail jam events in Oz. Getting put in a heat with someone I look up to or I think rides super sick and then coming out on top is always a great feeling. What is your feeling about sponsorships in 2017? Firstly I’m really grateful to my current sponsors EVL NUTRITION, UNIT-27 and PODMX. I’m chasing a board brand at the moment and any wakeboarding related products as I really feel I can offer something quite attractive to companies that support me. Hopefully my edits this year will make people go “wow” and convince the to have a spot for me on their team. I am really focusing on becoming a complete athlete. I have always been very loyal to my sponsors and hope that my riding and my character will open some doors. What is your funniest wakeboarding memory? There is always something funny happening each day riding and even more so at events. Dice for

Dan Baerselman, the style-monger from New Forest Wake Park, enjoying smashing an Industry Beer Can on tour - as everyone did!

industry Pro Wakeboard Tour Article by whom ever has written the article and Mantis Pro Media

H ow d o we s u s t a i n wa ke b o a r d i n g ? We l l , i t h a s t o grow of cour se. How does this growth occur? How d o e s t h e s p o r t m a i n t a i n a c r e d i b l e fo c u s o n t h e c o re w h i l e b e fa r re a c h i n g e n o u g h t o evo l ve i n t o something that is more than jus t niche? I’ll tell you how. You take the spor t to the people…

The first solution to this conundrum came in the form of the wakeboard winch in around the early 2000’s to 2005. The pool gap phenomena swept the wakeboard world with every conceivable manifestation of this creation popping up at boat shows, wakeboard events, multi action sports events in any situation from a car park to an indoor exhibition centre and everything in between. Some were impressive feats of engineering and some were far less so, but all had the same goal in mind, place our sport centre stage where the people couldn’t help but have wakeboarding shoved down their throats. The winch served us well for a time but then the quantum leap forward really came about with the visionary creation of the Sesitec System 2.0. Thank you Sesitec. Those same pool gaps in the middle of festival sites and boat shows became something entirely more rider and spectator friendly, enabling quick fire entertaining events with truly legitimate and credible riding going down.

LAUREN HILDERDARLING By Phil Sirech

For those who don’t know you, can you give us a bit of background info? I grew up in England and after leaving school, worked a number of seasonal contracts on the beach and in the mountains in Greece, France and Portugal. I moved to Australia in 2011 and got into wakeboarding at the cable parks in 2012. Most of my weekends have been spent there since. Have you traveled much with wakeboarding? Not as much as I’d like to. But there’s still plenty of time to travel to more parks. I’m kind of locked down for the next year with uni, but have lots of travel plans once I’ve graduated. The more you travel to different parks, the more creative you become, the quicker you can adjust and learn new lines and tricks. However, nothing beats hanging out after a session with your local cable park crew. Do you feel like there are life lessons you have learned on the board? Patience. To take more calculated risks as this leads to personal progression and confidence. That you’ll always perform better when you’re having fun.

The wake event was pretty stacked and started with 45 invited riders. This was broken into nine heats of five people. The top three of each heat would qualify to the semi’s. Semi’s had 12 riders in two heats with top three of each heat making a six man final. I qualified through to the finals with Aaron Gunn, Dom Hernler, Victor Salmon, Timo Kapl and Clement Nadal. I was stoked to stick my runs, with a combined score to come out on top, to take home the bacon. Aaron took second and Dom took third place on the podium. I was especially pumped, as I had to take the win, with my final pass and as the last rider. Both Aaron and Dom, dropped me down to third place, until my last run! I can’t wait to go back to FISE again next year! This epic event is definitely one of the best ways to represent wakeboarding to a bigger audience. www.waketao.com 81

Spot-On

Wake The Background Story ByPete By Matt Crowhurst / photos: Mantis Pro Media - #shrimpboi

I a lwa y s h a d a p a s s i o n fo r b o a r d s p o r t s a n d grew up spending a lot of my time windsurfing, surfing and skateboarding around the beaches a n d s k a t e p a r k s o f C o r n wa l l a n d S o u t h Wa l e s . T h i s ga ve m e i n s p i r a t i o n t o bu i l d a wa ke p a r k tha t was a bi t different from anything els e already in the UK.