Princes Club, London – The British National Cable Wakeboard Championships took place on Saturday 10th June and featured the top male and female riders from all over the UK vying for national titles and a place in the 2006 British Cable Wakeboard team, that will compete at the IWSF Cable Wakeboard World Championships, July 26-30, in Feldkirchen, Austria.
The Competition kicked off early on one of the hottest days of the year with 50 competitors battling it out to qualify for the finals.
Cable wakeboarding has grown rapidly around the world over the past few years and has even made its way to America, where they are putting together a solid team for the Worlds. As cable wakeboarding is new to a lot of people, here is a quick explanation of what it involves: a cableway tows riders from a circulating cable suspended above the water. The riders learn to load the line and release the tension built up to get some huge air. As the hang time is so great the athletes are able to perform tricks that are simply mind blowing.
The event consisted of 7 divisions, Boys - Born 1991 and after, Girls – 1991 and after, Junior Men – 1987 – 1990, Junior Ladies – 1987- 1990, Open Men – No Age Restriction, Open ladies – No Age Restriction, Master Men – 1975 or before.
The lively music got the crowd going and they were witness to some outstanding riding from the cream of British wakeboarding. The public also had the opportunity to take to the water, with Princes’ second cable running and the main cable open for use during the rest period between qualifiers and finals.
As it was England’s first match in the world cup, the break between the qualifying and final rounds couldn’t have come at a better time, giving fans the opportunity to top up their drinks and watch the match. As England won they were in a great mood to watch the finals which kicked off with a bang as Victoria Young from Princes landed a huge railey…awesome for a girl who is only 13 and definitely someone to watch out for in the future. The other girls and boys kept up the high standard.
“It’s great to see such rapid growth within the sport and the level of riders at this years event was very impressive, we are looking forward to seeing the team’s performance at the World’s in Austria and wish all the competitors the best of luck” Duncan Hancock, General Manager.
The crowd was anticipating a battle in the Junior mens and Open mens divisions, and they were not disappointed. Gareth Stelfox and James Young went out and killed it, landing all their tricks clean with the highlight from Gary, landing an 118118 (Double Hintenburger). This is a trick first landed by Tom Watson, one of the most promising riders the UK has ever seen. For his achievements and input into the sport he was awarded the 2003 European Cable Wakeboard Champion. Then it was Nick Davies’ turn, going big and landing everything with ease. He decided to pull out his famous Double S-Bend to Blind in his run and for his wildcard just missed out on the Mobe 540.
This was not the end of the big guns. The Open Men’s was to be the closest battle of all with the 2005 champion, John Tully defending his title against the likes of Ben Hitch and Jonty Green. It was really good to see Ben back in competition as he had been out with an injury this past season. He gave Jonty a run for his money with his big airs, sick grabs and late blind tricks but in the end, the 2005 Wakestock champion had the edge, doing just enough to hold off both John and Ben.
This event has proven that the British Team stands an excellent chance at the World Championships so good luck to all the teams’ members.
Princes would like to thank all the officials and sponsors, who included: Oakley, Relentless and Obey, and hope to see them all back at Princes on 24 June for the first of the British Cable Tour Stops, and again at the King of Cable Competition on 23 September.
Results
Girls
| 1. |
YOUNG, Victoria |
- |
Princes Club |
43.73 |
| 2. |
JENNINGS, Georgia |
- |
Princes Club |
27.87 |
| 3. |
BRYANT, Charlotte |
- |
JB Ski Club |
27.47 |
| 4. |
DONAGHEY, Jade |
- |
Princes Club |
21.33 |
| 5. |
JONES, Chloe |
- |
Princes Club |
20.27 |
Junior Women
| 1. |
CRAWLEY, Charlotte |
- |
JB Ski Club |
36.67 |
| 2. |
ROBERTS, Sara |
- |
|
32.53 |
| 3. |
HEMMING, Charlotte |
- |
Wake MK Club |
24.80 |
| 4. |
HALEY, Julia |
- |
|
17.60 |
Boys
| 1. |
CORDERY, Ben |
- |
JB Ski Club |
56.80 |
| 2. |
GAYWOOD, Joshua |
- |
|
47.33 |
| 3. |
CARTER, Freddie |
- |
JB Ski Club |
42.60 |
| 4. |
JONES, Conner |
- |
|
36.40 |
| 5. |
FLOYD, Louis |
- |
JB Ski Club |
34.93 |
| 6. |
TEMPLEMAN, Alex |
- |
Princes Club |
24.67 |
Open Women
| 1. |
HILBERY, Jess |
- |
JB Ski Club |
44.80 |
| 2. |
CRALLER, Steph |
- |
JB Ski Club |
29.87 |
| 3. |
BERRY, Ria |
- |
JB Ski Club |
29.13 |
| 4. |
TWIGDEN, Alexis |
- |
Wake MK Club |
27.20 |
| 5. |
ISHERWOOD, Jennifer |
- |
Wake MK Club |
26.67 |
Junior Men
| 1. |
DAVIES, Nick |
- |
Princes Club |
73.73 |
| 2. |
YOUNG, James |
- |
Princes Club |
64.20 |
| 3. |
STELFOX, Gareth |
- |
Princes Club |
63.07 |
| 4. |
CORNWALL, Lewis |
- |
Princes Club |
48.00 |
| 5. |
KOESTER, Christian |
- |
JB Ski Club |
41.07 |
| 6. |
ROSE, Joshua |
- |
Princes Club |
31.20 |
| 7. |
CHAPPELL, Simon |
- |
Sheffield |
28.53 |
Masters
| 1. |
HILBERY, Jess |
- |
JB Ski Club |
44.80 |
| 2. |
CRALLER, Steph |
- |
JB Ski Club |
29.87 |
| 3. |
BERRY, Ria |
- |
JB Ski Club |
29.13 |
| 4. |
TWIGDEN, Alexis |
- |
Wake MK Club |
27.20 |
| 5. |
ISHERWOOD, Jennifer |
- |
Wake MK Club |
26.67 |
Open Men
| 1. |
GREEN, Jonty |
- |
|
71.87 |
| 2. |
HITCH, Ben |
- |
|
70.27 |
| 3. |
TULLY, John |
- |
|
67.07 |
| 4. |
HATCHER, Dom |
- |
|
59.60 |
| 5. |
MANNS, Will |
- |
|
46.67 |
| 6. |
BULL, Damon |
- |
Sheffield |
31.63 |
Article By: Alex Azim
Photos from: Matt Crowhurst & Paul Mew
