Up-N-Comers

There have been a lot of people who have made wakeboarding what it is today. However, the future of wakeboarding, as it is with most other things also, is the younger generation. It is important to take the time every now and then to scout the scene for up-and-comers that could have a big impact on the sport. They need some recognition. So, I'm going to give them some. Here are a couple of up-and coming wakeboarders who we should expect to see good things out of in the future:

One name that we are sure to be hearing a lot of in the near future is Noah Flegel. Noah is only fourteen years old and he has already made amazing strides. He already has at least a 900 and an other-hand-hoochie (OHH). Not to bad I would say. He has also already won a world championship and the kid hasn't even made it to high school yet. He was nominated and chosen this year as the 2011 Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year. I think it is safe to say we are going to be seeing good things from him. 

Juan Mendez is another up-and-coming name in the wakeboard world that is sure to turn some heads really soon. Juan recently competed in the Pros vs Joes wakeboard event and showed what he was made of. His team, actually Adam Errington's, ended up in second place, with Noah taking the top spot out of the three "joes" on the team.

Watch for both of these riders to make a splash in the near future.

Pros and Franks

• Everybody strives for an opportunity to compete side-to-side with their favorite pro riders, but few get to. I have water-skied with some of the best skiers in the world but have never boarded with the pros. I will one of these days. Anyway, last weekend thirty up-and-coming amateur wakeboarders got the chance to ride with some of the best in the buiz. This opportunity came in the form of the 5th Annual South Florida 
• Wake Association Pros and Joes Wake event in West Palm Beach at Lake Okeeheelee.
•  
• The team leaders included Scott Stewart, Daniel Powers, Nicola Butler, Steele Lafferty, Adam Errington, Zane Schwenk, Josh Palma, Andrew Adkison, JD Webb and Phil Soven. They were each paired with three of the amateur riders, and every rider on the team competed in two heats. The amateur riders weren't just no names either. One of the Joes on JD Webb's winning team was Sports Illustrated's SportsKid of the Year Noah Flegel.  
• 
  
• 1st - Team JD Webb
• -Noah Flegel
• -Jake Baynham
• -Brooke Grassman
• 
  
• 2nd - Team Adam Errington
• -Juan Mendez
• -Trip Brown
• -Justin Lee
• 
  
• 3rd - Team Nicola Butler
• -Sofia Mendez
• -Shelby King
• -James Loisel
• 
  
• 4th - Team Daniel Powers
• -Michael Fay
• -Merritt Fay
• -Kevin Duffy
• 
  
• Best Crash
• -Casey Lumina

If you want to see some of the footage from the event, you can head to http://sfwake.com/.

The event had a number of sponsors this year including South Florida Mastercraft, Motion Watersports, CWB Board Co., Red Bull, Muscle Milk, Broward Motorsports, Jamba Juice, Exceed Wetsuits, Nacho Bizness, Wakeboardingfilms.com, Boca Raton Helicopters, R2R productions, Evidence Clothing, Virtue Wakeskates, Nike 6.0, Billabong/Von Zipper and Just-In-Time window tinting

Rockstar Contest

You know when you love Rockstar so much that you wish you could have one every day for the rest of your life? Can't really say I do. I don't know if constant erratic behavior and uncomfortable spurts of energy every day is for me. I'm also going to have to assume that doing so cannot possibly be good for you. That being said, damn would I enjoy having the option to have a free Rockstar every day for the rest of my life. As far as I know, there is no way of obtaining that option short of working for the company. However, there is the possibility of winning a free one year supply of Rockstar's new Xdurance energy beverage.

That is right! Rockstar is holding a contest that could put your dream of free Rockstar drinks everyday for a year within grasp. The new Rockstar new Xdurance energy drink is apparently pumped full of $#!& like branched chain amino acids and electrolytes, all of which are meant to help boost your performance on the water (or whatever else you might be doing when you drink it).

Entering the contest is easy, unless you were born sometime before the fifties and don't quite have a grasp of the magic computing box. Her is how: First, you have to navigate your way to the TransWorld WAKEBOARDING Facebook page, and "Like" it. Next, submit your name and email and enter the contest. That simple. Not exactly sure, but I'm guessing the winner will be picked sometime around new years. Good Luck.

In the Spotlight: 2011's Best of the Best of the Best

Dean Smith:
Dean is the kind of rider that leaves it all out on the water. At a time when wakeboarding is growing rapidly, Dean has done a lot for the progression of the sport by letting his yam bag hang on every trick and run.
Rusty Malinoski:
Rusty has a real passion for wakeboarding that can really be seen in his riding. He sometimes gets a bad rap for his competitiveness, but it is only due to his love of winning, his aggressiveness and his unwavering focus.
Clay Fletcher:
I can relate to Clay because we have both learned to wakeboard without ever having owned a wakeboard boat. Granted I'm not a pro... Anyway, clay is a truly diverse rider with abilities in cable, rails and wake riding.
Keith Lyman:
If I had the abilities to make it as a pro wakeboarder I don't think I could give it up. However, the call to duty from Uncle Sam was enough to persuade Keith to do just that. Keith is finally following his life-long dream to protect and serve.
Olivier Derome:
Olivier was able to hone his riding skills through his work experience at the Projects just outside Orlando, and he is now one of the most impressive rail riders on the planet. However, he is quite sillek behind a boat as well.
Tom Fooshee:
Tom Fooshee's name is synonymous with cable park riding. He was crucial in the progression of cable riding and is the world's most successful cable rider. Ever.
Danny Harf:
Danny has always pushed the limits of his ability and the sport, and his passion for wakeboard videos has allowed us to witness much if it. His last Defy video is set to premier and be released in December 2011.
Josh Palma:
After a shoulder injury, Josh stopped chasing his dream of playing baseball and tried his hand at wakeboarding. Not a bad hand.
Brian Grubb:
Throughout wakeskating's 10 year existence, Brian Grubb has been a huge factor in the sport. Grubb has remained at the top of the ranks throughout his entire career and probably will until his retirement.

Check out the entire interviews with these riders at http://wakeboardingmag.com/features/2011/10/21/best-of-2011-pro-spotlights/ 

Aaron Rathy

"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.

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

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.