"Aaron Rathy tests positive at the 2011 Pan Am Games" actually sounds like a good thing. However, that is not the case. Canadian wakeboarder was disqualified from the 2011 Pan Am Games for failing the required drug test. And for what substance you ask? No, not the ganja. The culprit was methylhexaneamine. Never heard of it? Me neither. However, there is a good chance you have used it. The substance can be found in a number of nasal decongestants, dietary supplements and workout formulas. One product that it can most certainly be found in is OxyElite Pro, sold at GNC. The mild stimulant was added to the list of banned supplements in 2009 by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Rathy insists that he purchased and used OxyElite Pro without any knowledge that the product contained the banned substance. He has since issued a statement expressing his deepest apologies for any damage or inconvenience caused by the incident. He also stressed that he felt greatly privileged to have had the opportunity to represent Canada at the Pan Am Games.
Unfortunately for Rathy, the disqualification did have a significant effect on his outcome in the competition. With his total of 72.67, Rathy was positioned to take home the silver medal in the Pan Am Games wakeboard event for the Canadian Team. While I would hope no rider would want to win a medal due to such an occurrence, Rathy's disqualification did give Marcelo Giardi the silver medal and jump Alejo De Palma up into a medal spot.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Let's Go 'Merica
It was a good weekend for America, as the members of the US Water Ski Team made their talents known at the 2011 Pan Am Games. Over the course of the weekend, lasting from October 20 to October 23, four of the US team members combined to win a total of seven medals, many of which were gold. The members of the US Water Ski Team that competed in the 2011 Pan Am Games include Andrew Adkison, Russell Gay, Regina Jaquess, Freddy Krueger and Jon Travers. Mike Meek and Dave Briscoe acted as the waterski and wakeboard coaches, while Frank Harrison acted as the team leader. Out of them, Russell Gay was the only US competitor not to bring home a medal.
Andrew Adkison, though he is on the US Waterski Team, competing in the wkeboarding event of the Pan Am Games. He did not do too bad either. Adkison took first place and the gold medal in the event, beating second place Marcelo Giardi by a margin of 14.1 points; The gap between second and third was only .79 points.
Regina Jaquess was the star of the US team, bringing home a total of four medals. Jaquess took the gold in overall, slalom, and jumping while also taking the bronze in tricks. It's not surprising that she won that many medals considering she set four new Pan Am records and one new world record(pending) in the process.
Freddy Krueger took the gold medal for the US in Men's Jump with a leap of 212 ft, beating out Rodrigo Miranda by a mere .4 m. Krueger also set a new Pan Am jump record with a 221 ft jump in the prelims.
Finally, Jon Travers took the gold in the Men's Slalom event with 2 buoys at 41 ft off, setting a new Pan Am Games record
Andrew Adkison, though he is on the US Waterski Team, competing in the wkeboarding event of the Pan Am Games. He did not do too bad either. Adkison took first place and the gold medal in the event, beating second place Marcelo Giardi by a margin of 14.1 points; The gap between second and third was only .79 points.
Regina Jaquess was the star of the US team, bringing home a total of four medals. Jaquess took the gold in overall, slalom, and jumping while also taking the bronze in tricks. It's not surprising that she won that many medals considering she set four new Pan Am records and one new world record(pending) in the process.
Freddy Krueger took the gold medal for the US in Men's Jump with a leap of 212 ft, beating out Rodrigo Miranda by a mere .4 m. Krueger also set a new Pan Am jump record with a 221 ft jump in the prelims.
Finally, Jon Travers took the gold in the Men's Slalom event with 2 buoys at 41 ft off, setting a new Pan Am Games record
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
HDX Hydration Mix
So, I have just heard about this HDX Hydration mix that is apparently taking the wakeboarding world by storm. If you are like me and have not heard of it before, here's a little info:
HDX Hydration Mix is a powder that comes in a pouch and mixes with 16.9 oz of water. The idea behind HDX Hydration Mix is that it is a product that is beneficial to your body as well as the environment. It is beneficial to your body because it is an all natural product, and the company claims it is beneficial to the environment for a number of reasons; one reason being that it takes much less energy to transport and distribute drink products that are already filled with liquid (such as cans of soda or bottled water) than it does to transport packets of powder. This I get. However, the company also says that the product is more environmentally friendly because you do not have to throw out a water bottle afterwards. This I don't quite agree with. You still have to pour it into a water bottle if you're on the go. Maybe you've got a reusable water bottle. You still have to throw out the packet after it's used. Anyway... the product is meant to do all of the following:
-Maximize Hydration
-Increase Strength
-Improve Endurance
-Speed Recovery
-Delay Fatigue
HDX Hydration Mix has only been in the wakeboarding market for about six months, and the company has already signed some big names; well, at least one. Wakeboarding legend Shaun Murray was signed by HDX not too long ago, and they have just added 21-year-old wakeboarder Alexa Score to the team.
HDX Hydration Mix is a powder that comes in a pouch and mixes with 16.9 oz of water. The idea behind HDX Hydration Mix is that it is a product that is beneficial to your body as well as the environment. It is beneficial to your body because it is an all natural product, and the company claims it is beneficial to the environment for a number of reasons; one reason being that it takes much less energy to transport and distribute drink products that are already filled with liquid (such as cans of soda or bottled water) than it does to transport packets of powder. This I get. However, the company also says that the product is more environmentally friendly because you do not have to throw out a water bottle afterwards. This I don't quite agree with. You still have to pour it into a water bottle if you're on the go. Maybe you've got a reusable water bottle. You still have to throw out the packet after it's used. Anyway... the product is meant to do all of the following:
-Maximize Hydration
-Increase Strength
-Improve Endurance
-Speed Recovery
-Delay Fatigue
HDX Hydration Mix has only been in the wakeboarding market for about six months, and the company has already signed some big names; well, at least one. Wakeboarding legend Shaun Murray was signed by HDX not too long ago, and they have just added 21-year-old wakeboarder Alexa Score to the team.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Christmas is a Cyomin' Up: Need Gift Ideas?
While it is not Thanksgiving yet, Christmas is just around the corner. I always wait until the last minute to decide what to get my friends and family for Christmas, but you do not have to experience the same fate. Here are some places that could be helpful to you when running down ye ole Christmas shopping list:
Wakeboarders' World Online Shop
It does not matter wether you are a Wakeboarders' World fan or not, you cannot go wrong with any of the products offered on the Wakeboarders' World Online Shop. There is no wakeboard performance gear currently provided at the Wakeboarders' World Online Shop, but that is not what the shop was created for. I created the shop to provide riders with quality, fashionable gear that will make you look as good off the water as you do on (if not better!)! The Wakeboarders' World Online Shop offers apparel spanning from flip-flops to trucker hats. Come on by the shop and check it out!
Other Great Products
If you are like me, you are always ready for the wakeboard season to begin, but you are never quite ready for the wakeboard season to begin. You never seem to start off anywhere near where you were at the previous year. Eureka! I have the perfect solution. Check out some of these great products that are sure to get you physically and mentally prepared for the upcoming wakeboard season.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
A Little Spine & Swine
The first annual Spine & Swine took place about two weeks ago at the Hansen's WWC compound in Groveland, Florida, and there was some really intense competition! The competition is so cleverly named based on the use of the Fox Spine Obstacle/Rail/Ramp that is used. The riders were pulled back and forth over the Spine by a System 2.0 cable. I'm not really sure about the "Swine" part. I would assume they have a pig roast or something to that effect; if not, they should look into it. I digress. The Spine & Swine was tailored to all types of riders, consisting of both a wakeboard competition and a wakeskate competition. The event was aimed at being more fun than competitive, so, very fittingly, the wakeboarders played WAKE and the wakeskaters played SKATE. The heats for the event were as follows:
Wakeboard- Heat 1 (top two advance to finals) Wakeboard- Heat 2 (top two advance to finals)
Josh Twelker Paulie Koch
Gus Shuler Gunnar Shuler
Parks Bonifay Rusty Malinoski
Derek Cook Adam Errington
Jimmy LaRiche Shaun Murray
Bob Soven
Wakeskate- Heat 1 Wakeskate- Heat 2
Dieter Humpsch Reed Hansen
Leo Labriese Grant Roberts
Nick Taylor Josh Zentmeyer
Parks Bonifay, Adam Errington, Bob Soven, and Shaun Murray all made it to the wakeboard finals, but in a suprise twist (no pun intended), Parks opted out of the finals do to a knee injury incurred during the semis. Bob Soven ended up taking it with a backroll to blind over the spine and walked away $500 richer.
Nick Taylor and Reed Hansen made it to the finals in the wakeskate event. Reed Hansen pulled out the win with a boardslide, big spin out and pocketed $500 as well.
The video footage of the event only just came out online a few days ago, and the boarders really threw some $h*! down! Check it out here!
Wakeboard- Heat 1 (top two advance to finals) Wakeboard- Heat 2 (top two advance to finals)
Josh Twelker Paulie Koch
Gus Shuler Gunnar Shuler
Parks Bonifay Rusty Malinoski
Derek Cook Adam Errington
Jimmy LaRiche Shaun Murray
Bob Soven
Wakeskate- Heat 1 Wakeskate- Heat 2
Dieter Humpsch Reed Hansen
Leo Labriese Grant Roberts
Nick Taylor Josh Zentmeyer
Parks Bonifay, Adam Errington, Bob Soven, and Shaun Murray all made it to the wakeboard finals, but in a suprise twist (no pun intended), Parks opted out of the finals do to a knee injury incurred during the semis. Bob Soven ended up taking it with a backroll to blind over the spine and walked away $500 richer.
Nick Taylor and Reed Hansen made it to the finals in the wakeskate event. Reed Hansen pulled out the win with a boardslide, big spin out and pocketed $500 as well.
The video footage of the event only just came out online a few days ago, and the boarders really threw some $h*! down! Check it out here!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Sports Illustrated Meets Wakeboarding
Now, as far as I know, wakeboarding has not been represented much in Sports Illustrated in the past. However, the mainstream sports magazine is finally recognizing the rapidly growing sport in the form of a 14 year old boy. That's right, 14 year old Noah Flegel from Lighthouse Port, Florida was named Sports Illustrated 2011 SportsKid of the Year and even found himself a spot on the cover. I'm 22 and this kid has already been on the cover of a major magazine more times than I have. I gotta get at it I guess.
I'm not sure exactly how good this kid is for a 14 year old, but apparently he has a 900 in his bag of tricks. So I am guessing he is not bad... And judging from the picture on the front cover I have to assume he can also do a OHH (Other Hand Hoochie); just a guess. He also has two first place titles from last summer, one from the WWA World Championships and one from the WWA National Championships. If that's not enough, he also had a third place finish in the pro men’s skim division at the World Wake Surfing Championship. Needless to say, I'm impressed.
Noah will have the honor to stand alongside the 2011 Sportsman of the Year, to be announced December 6th, at the ceromony taking place in New York in early December. If that's not enough, he will also be honored in 2012 during an appearance on Cartoon Network's "Hall of Game Awards." Be sure to check sportsillustrated.com to find out the 2011 Sportsman of the Year, and remember the name Noah Flegel. I have a feeling were going to be hearing a lot more about him in the upcoming future.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Wake World Blog: "Ultimate Wake Championship"
So once again I have decided to take time to promote other bloggers on the net that provide quality wakeboard posts. And when I say bloggers, I mean blogger. And when I say blogger I mean Austin Hair. And when I say Austin hair, I really mean one of his latest blog posts, "Ultimate Wake Championship."
The blog post discusses, believe it or not, the largest cash prize event of 2011, the Ultimate Wake Championship. I really like this blog post for a couple of reasons. First off, Austin was not only present at the competition, but he competed in it as well. This means that the blog provides a first-hand account of the event, so the post is more detailed and believable. I also like that he broke down the blog into different sections. While this is a slightly more than mundane detail when it comes to blogging, it can be quite obnoxious to try and navigate through an unorganized piece of writing. That being said, I dig the sections. Austin also adds a little more to the blog than a simple recap of events. He detailed the whole trip from Orlando takeoff the awards ceremony. And to top it all off, the blog depicted a heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, gut-busting story of redemption and overcoming obstacles (maybe not gut-busting).
If you have some spare time and want to receive an in depth analysis of the Ultimate Wake Championship, along with some stories of redemption and good cheer, then stop by http://www.wakeworld.com/news/blogs/ultimate-wake-championship.html and read Austin Hair's bog post "Ultimate Wake Championship."
The blog post discusses, believe it or not, the largest cash prize event of 2011, the Ultimate Wake Championship. I really like this blog post for a couple of reasons. First off, Austin was not only present at the competition, but he competed in it as well. This means that the blog provides a first-hand account of the event, so the post is more detailed and believable. I also like that he broke down the blog into different sections. While this is a slightly more than mundane detail when it comes to blogging, it can be quite obnoxious to try and navigate through an unorganized piece of writing. That being said, I dig the sections. Austin also adds a little more to the blog than a simple recap of events. He detailed the whole trip from Orlando takeoff the awards ceremony. And to top it all off, the blog depicted a heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, gut-busting story of redemption and overcoming obstacles (maybe not gut-busting).
If you have some spare time and want to receive an in depth analysis of the Ultimate Wake Championship, along with some stories of redemption and good cheer, then stop by http://www.wakeworld.com/news/blogs/ultimate-wake-championship.html and read Austin Hair's bog post "Ultimate Wake Championship."
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