It’s 9a.m. on a dazzling Saturday morning. Standing on the gravel shore, dotted with white plastic tents, I am struck by how much work has gone into organizing this weekend’s Horne Lake Wakeboard tournament.

The registration table is busy taking last minute entrant’s forms as one teenager hastily fills in his information and slaps down a hundred bucks. Over at the food tent, Rick is mopping the sweat off his beat-red face as he slices ham and cracks eggs, preparing breakfast for the moms and dads who have come to support their fledgling offspring.

With the last registration form in, and the pro’s still asleep, the announcer starts calling the first group of competitors to the dock. It’s the novice division, open to anyone who has never competed before. The only skill required is the ability to cross the wake.

Slowly, the event begins to get underway after a few false starts. Tanner, the first competitor, is pulled out of the water. A novice, he sets the bar pretty high for the those who follow him.

The wakeboarders range in age, from seven to 49, and experience. Over the next two days they will compete for a total of two minutes. If it seems like a lot of effort for so little time in the water, most competitors would agree, a lot can happen in 60 seconds.

Once the boat rounds the big orange ball marker, signaling the start of their ride, the borders will begin jumping the three-foot swell, hoping to get as much height as possible. The older, more experienced riders, will thrust their bodies high into the air, turning summersaults as they land. They will criss-cross the wake doing forward and backward flips at speeds of 20 mph. The truly brave will do a slider, which involves hopping out of the water, riding their board along a narrow wooden rail, and jumping back into the water.

While their competition only takes 60 seconds each day, they and their families have come for the weekend. They’re friends who enjoy helping each other out. They pitch in and volunteer at events like this one that are held throughout the summer in B.C. It’s not just about the two minutes in the water, it’s about hanging out and having fun - serious fun.

Cheers,

Julie

PS - I have some great footage of the weekend’s event. Stay tuned for details on where and how to preview it.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 16th, 2007 at 11:16 am and is filed under Entertaining. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.