MOLDING THE FUTURE: RIDER EXPERIENCE SOUTH RECAP

Words & Photos: Kevco

Kicking off the inaugural event of the four-stop Malibu Rider Experience tour, wakeboarders of all levels descended into Freedom Wake Park, in Orlando, Florida on May 10-12 for three days of high-end riding and education.

With a mission to teach individuals and help grow the sport on all levels, The World Wakeboard Association stepped up big time, as the producer and sanctioning body of the Rider Experience. The agenda was laid back, yet productive in a fun environment. And the newly opened Freedom Wake Park delivered great conditions and proved itself as one of the best new venues in the world for wakeboarding.

“Freeride Friday” set the tone for the Rider Experience as 30 riders took turns in groups shredding behind the Malibu WAKESETTER 22 MXZ, which is also the official towboat of the Red Bull Wake Open. Glassy water and good vibes led to a day of shredding that was fun to be a part of. Sessions were also held on land with WWA officials, Malibu pro team riders. The Judge’s Experience explained what judges are looking for and how to create your best run in a contest. The Rider Development session explained the do’s and don’ts of becoming a successful wakeboarder, including advice on many topics such as conduct and social media management.

19-year-old Danny Groves landed his first-ever tantrum to blind that day and was psyched on the experience. “It was nice to connect with people and converse with other riders throughout the whole weekend,” Groves said. “I was super impressed with Malibu as a boat and fell in love with the wake behind the MXZ. After my first air, my eyes immediately lit up. Jimmy Trask taught me how to take my tantrum up higher and it was the best advice. Sticking my first tantrum to blind was the best feeling ever. I appreciate everyone on staff for lending their time to help me out. It went a long way.” Look for an extended interview with Danny coming soon on malibuboats.com.

Saturday was competition day for all age divisions and a Pro Card qualifier for aspiring professionals to become recognized as a top competitive wakeboarder. Malibu Pro Team riders Brian Grubb, Amber Wing, Phil Soven and Dallas Friday were the judges. Dante Digangi killed it all weekend, and scored his Pro Card.

Overall, it was a progressive contest atmosphere, with each rider allowed two runs, keeping their best score. All riders also improved their seeding for events later in the year including the WWA Nationals and Worlds.

“SURF GATE Sunday” capped off the Rider Experience, with participants able to test out SURF GATE by Malibu, the revolutionary innovation allowing for wakesurfing on both sides of an evenly weighted WAKESETTER. Music was pumping through the Rockford Fosgate system on Brian Grubb’s 22 MXZ and everyone was psyched to hang out and wind down with some slayshing. Special thanks to the WWA as well as Cobe and Tarah Mikacich of Freedom Wake Park for hosting an amazing event. Malibu Boats would also like to thank CTRL, CWB and Ronix for their support of the Rider Experience.

The next Malibu WWA Rider Experience will be held on June 7-9 at Mossdale Quarry Lakes in Lathrop, California hosted by Larson Marine. Go to http://wwariderexperience.com for more info and to register in the coming days.

Check out photo galleries from each day on the Malibu Boats Facebook page.

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First Rider Experience Kicks Off May 10-12 In Orlando!

RIDERS, PARENTS AND COACHES COME TOGETHER AT THE RIDER EXPERIENCE

The Malibu WWA Rider Experience is more than just a contest, it’s a time to connect with riders, parents and local volunteers to the sport of wakeboarding. On May 10-12, 2013 at Freedom Wake Park in Orlando, Florida, competitors and non-competitors will join to advance and progress, not just their own riding, judging and development, but also as a sport.

Freedom Wake Park in Orlando, Florida

As a portion of the Malibu WWA Rider Experience, the Rider Development is another tool to help riders, parents, coaches and volunteers better understand and become comfortable in our sport.

The Rider Development will be delivered partly by the WWA as well as a top profile athletes or industry leaders and will help a rider achieve their goals in the sport. Whether that rider wants to win Junior Boys or become a professional one day. We want to deliver to them the proper avenues to achieve a dream. This includes conduct at and around events and social media do’s and don’ts.

The Rider Development is free to enter for registered competitors and non-competitors alike.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

#MalibuRiderExperience

FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013
• Freeride Fridays; come ride with Malibu Boats Pro Riders
• Judges Experience; open to everyone that wants to learn more about judging
• Rider Development; learn how to brand yourself as a wakeboarder

SATURDAY
• WWA Regional Championships – Semi Finals and Finals; compete with regional riders for your chance to win the WWA Regionals & get a seeding for WWA Wakeboard US National Championships
• WWA Pro Card Qualifier; aspiring pro riders qualify their annual pro card (www.WWAProCard.com)
• Social Function; come hang out and grab some grub with other riders and Malibu Boats pro riders

SUNDAY
• Wakesurf Experience. Try out SURF GATE by Malibu, open to competitors and non-competitors

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The Rider Experience Is For Everyone: Competitors & Non-Competitors

Get involved at the Rider Experience, even if you aren’t competing.

This is more than just a contest, it’s a time to connect with riders, parents and local volunteers to the sport of wakeboarding. On May 10-12, 2013 at Freedom Wake Park in Orlando, FL competitors and non-competitors will join to advance and progress, not just their own riding, judging and development, but also wakeboarding as a sport.

The 0ne-hour Judge’s Experience seminar on the afternoon of May 10 will feature top WWA officials explaining everything from how judging works to what judges are looking for in a contest. It will also help riders and parents set up good competition runs to better your overall tournament experience. This is a great opportunity to enlist parents and other volunteers to shadow judge the event while encouraging them to assist at other events in their area. The ultimate goal is to give people a level of comfort with the sport to become more involved in their own wakeboard community.

Come join us May 10-12, 2013 for the Judge’s Experience at Freedom Wake Park in Orlando, FL.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP NOW!

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Malibu WWA PRO CARD Qualifier At Freedom Wake Park In Orlando

New Format Legitimizes Pro Wakeboarders

Glass calm water and a huge wake set the stage at Freedom Wake Park in Orlando on April 13 for the first-ever Malibu WWA PRO CARD wakeboarding qualifier, a development project by the World Wakeboard Association designed to fuel the vitality of competitive wakeboarding long into the future.

With an opportunity to secure a spot as a legitimate professional competitive wakeboarder, 20 riders competed for 16 cards on the day. The heats were stacked and the wake behind the Malibu WAKESETTER 22 MXZ was banging. In the four-man final, camaraderie outweighed the riders’ competitive nature, but they all pushed each other to throw down.

Bryant Thomas, Chad Sharpe, Oli Derome, Brian Grubb & Dean Smith

19-year-old Mike Dowdy was the favorite coming into the event and he proved why, landing a backside 720, Moby Dick 540, toeside 900, nosegrab crow mobe 540 and more, including his signature heelside double grab (nose/stale) ole’ 720.

Mike Dowdy rides to victory and scores his PRO CARD.

That run put Dowdy in the top spot as winner of the first-ever Malibu WWA Pro Card Event. Dowdy was psyched on his result and appreciates the new structure created by the PRO CARD system.

“I think the PRO CARD is awesome,” Dowdy said. “Anyone who thinks they are, or can be a pro rider now has this opportunity to prove it. I was super stoked to come out with the win at the first event and the conditions were perfect. Everyone is killing it. All my friends were out here riding as well today and we are all having fun just pushing it and becoming better riders every day. There’s definitely a movement going on with this crew and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Finalists Ben Allbright, Stephen Pierce, Christian Primrose and Mike Dowdy

The Malibu WWA PRO CARD was the first of five events for 2013. The remaining regional events will consist of PRO CARD qualifiers and the “Rider Experience,” which will be events designed to help amateurs develop into pros. Check out more at http://wwariderexperience.com.

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First-Ever Malibu Boats WWA Pro Card Qualifier Kicks Off April 13th

Wakeboarding’s Newest Contest Format Officially Categorizes Pro Riders

The first wakeboard event of its kind to truly designate professional riders from their amateur counterparts, the Malibu Boats WWA Pro Card program kicks off in the sport’s mecca, Orlando, on April 13. The one-day card qualifier, held at one of the sport’s newest and freshest venues, Freedom Wake Park, allows riders a chance to earn a 2013 WWA Malibu Pro Card and qualify to ride in any WWA Pro Men division contest anywhere in the world.

Plenty of amazing riding will be going down at Freedom, a new Orlando training complex and home site of pros Cobe and Tara Mikacich. Pulled by the all-new Malibu WAKESETTER 22 MXZ, the Pro Card Qualifier is expected to attract some of the region’s top-ranked Junior Men, including Mike Dowdy, Jacob Valdez, Gordon Harrison and others.

Click here for more info and registration!


About the WWA
The World Wakeboard Association is the global leader in wake sport sanctioning. The WWA owns and operates the WWA Wakeboard World Series, WWA Wakeboard National Championships, WWA Wakeboard World Championships, WWA Wake Park National Championships, WWA Wake Park Triple Crown, WWA Wake Park World Series, WWA Wake Park World Championships, WWA Rider Experience and WWA Pro Card. With 27 affiliate countries worldwide, the WWA is the global leader in the sport of wake. The WWA is a rider-formed organization dedicated to promoting and growing wake sports worldwide. It is the leading source for riders, event organizers and competitive standards. For more information on the WWA and its events, check out www.thewwa.com.

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Tarah Mikacich Interview From Wake World

Although she's gone from one famous watersports name (Benzel) to another (Mikacich), Tarah Mikacich has been quietly making a name for herself. Once you've been introduced to her bubbly personality and experienced her drive to progress in all she does, it's no surpise that she's successful in just about any undertaking. Even in the off-season we had to catch the busy Tarah between projects so you could find out more about her.

WW: Would it be impolite to start out by asking your age?
TM: Hahaha, I just turned 29, but the good news is that I still have to show my ID to sit in the exit row of an airplane!
 
WW: Did you marry Cobe Mikacich so that you will be forever young, relatively speaking?
TM: Wow, going right after the age gap! Well, Cobe is definitely a big kid. He always has fun ideas! And since I’ll never catch up with him birthday-wise, I just try to keep up with his fast pace and learn from some of his experiences.
 
WW: You currently reside in Orlando, Florida, but is that where you’re from originally?
TM: Basically. I grew up in Groveland (which is about 40 minutes from Orlando), but no one really knows where that is.
 
WW: How did you end up in wakeboarding?
TM: I had been water skiing at a high level for most of my life, but I got to a point where I needed to change things up. I just felt that it didn’t suit me anymore. I asked Cobe to take me wakeboarding because I’d never done it before and I thought it would be a fun change of pace. It was! Fortunately, I got great industry support from the beginning.
 
WW: How long have you been wakeboarding professionally?
TM: Well, I did my first pro contests in 2007. I blew out my knee at the end of that summer and had a very hard time coming back for a few years. I think I finally rode a full season in 2010 or 2011.
 
WW: You seem like you’re a super busy person. What occupies all your time?
TM: Cobe! Hahaha, but for real, Cobe has A LOT of projects!
 
WW: I hear that your wakeboard school is going to be expanding and moving to a new location. Can you tell me about that?
TM: Yes! We are opening Freedom Wake Park in the heart of Orlando! If you’re familiar with Orlando, our new location is about a mile from Performance Ski & Surf. It’s very exciting to have a private lake (with boat & rails) and be close to everything else that people want to do in Orlando!
 
WW: What’s your favorite part of teaching people how to wakeboard?
TM: It’s really fun for me when I can explain to someone the way that I understand a trick to work, and then all of a sudden they “get it” – they make a really good change and I can tell they’re feeling exactly what I described.
 
WW: How important is wakeboarding on the Pro Tour to you?
TM: It’s a great part of the sport for sure. But for me, it’s not where I feel I make the biggest impact. It’s a good way to be in the scene though.
 
WW: What’s the most important part about being a pro wakeboarder?
TM: I think that loving what you do has got to be the most important thing. Sometimes people get too caught up with little things and they forget to be grateful that they get to wakeboard and spend their days on the water.


Click here to see the rest from wakeworld.com

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Freedom Wake Park Opens In Orlando!

COBE & TARAH MIKACICH ANNOUNCE NEW SITE FOR WAKEBOARDING & WAKESURFING LESSONS

After running a highly successful private coaching program for several years, Cobe and Tarah Mikacich have opened up a new location for wakeboarding in Orlando called Freedom Wake Park.

Cobe, one of the sport’s best ambassadors, has been working on this location for five months, and has been diligent with permits and regulations, because he knew this was the best venue. “It’s been a lot of work, but it feels good to know we have found the best spot for our students.” Cobe said. “This site offers perfect conditions for wakeboarding and wakesurfing and we have plans to set up a System 2.0 cableway with rails.”

It’s no secret that Cobe and Tarah have been training some of the best junior riders on the scene, as many of them are on the podium at King Of Wake events across the nation. “Developing junior riders has definitely been an area of focus for us,” Tarah said. “But we also help all kinds of riders from all over the world — from first timers to people training for the Pro Tour. And with wakesurfing’s growth, we’re going to offer specialized wakesurfing camps and have fun with that side of the sport as well.”

With a Malibu WAKESETTER VLX and full gear lineup from O’Brien, Freedom Wake Park is fully operational, so be sure to contact them for any inquiries. Also supporting the park is Ten 80, SAYiWON’T, Shred Ready, Indo Board, Hangtyte, B4BC and Great Lakes Boat Top.

Freedom Wake Park

7200 Lake Ellenor Drive Orlando, FL 32809

407-257-4325

FreedomWakePark.com | Facebook.com/FreedomWakePark | Twitter.com/FreedomWakePark

Instagram.com/FreedomWakePark

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