‘To have the whole spectrum of ages here is surreal,’ said overall champion Tom Fooshee of the US

THE WORLD’S top professional wakeboarders and wakeskaters were Bicol’s main attraction at the recent 2011 Ultimate Wake Championship (UWC) held at the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC).

Pinoy pride—and girl power, too—were not missing, either, as Samantha Bermudez from Quezon City bested Germany’s Elisabeth Fuchs for the Pro Women Wakeboarding category, while Bicolana Tynna Rosero placed second for Pro Women Wakeskate.

The competition, an adrenaline-pumping showcase of wakeboard and wakeskate tricks, was the final leg of the 2010 World Wakeboard Association (WWA) Wake Park World Series and WWA Wakeboard World Series.

With the world’s most complete wake park facility as their playground, riders displayed their versatility in all three major wakeboarding disciplines: boat, cable and System 2.0 winch.

“This is the goal of the province—sports tourism,” said Camarines Sur Gov. LRay Villafuerte. “We are proud to be hosting UWC for the third consecutive year.”

Outstanding riders included Tom Fooshee from the US, who won as UWC overall wakeboard champion, and bagged top places in the Obstacles Only and Pro Men wakeboard (boat and cable) categories; and Reed Hansen, USA, UWC overall wakeskate champion.

But it was UWC’s youngest rider, 13-year-old Daniel Grant, who became the crowd favorite after bagging top spot in the Pro Men wakeboard cable category, besting other more senior competitors. Grant also placed in the Obstacles Only and Pro Wakeskate Cable categories, taking home prize money worth $7,000.

“I know I landed my KGBs, S-mobes, Moby Dick 5s,” said Grant, describing his top wakeboard and wakeskate tricks.

KGBs and Moby Dick 5s are types of inverts or flips. With the S-mobe, a rider must extend his body upward, board above the head, without doing a complete flip.

“To have the whole spectrum of ages here is surreal,” said Fooshee.

“I just tried my best,” said Bermudez of her victory. “Coin toss lang ’yan eh, because during the run, a lot of people choke—nerves get to some people.”

Bermudez, 24, took up wakeboarding when she was 19, when friends invited her to try it in Lago de Oro in Batangas. She now teaches the sport, too, and will be representing the country under the wakeboarding category at the next Southeast Asian games.

“Wakeboarding is so progressive,” says Bermudez. “There’s no end to it. There’s always something to learn every time you ride.”