WWA Wake Park World Championships - Action heats up at Al Forsan

by World Wakeboard Association on 7 Nov 2014 Today, the Al Forsan International Sports Resort was the scene of another exceptional riding day in all categories of the 2014 WWA Wake Park World Championships. 'Variety' could easily be the best word to describe all the action we had in front of our eyes: variety in disciplines, categories, tricks and format.

The day started on the wakeskate lake with both women and men, amateurs and pro. With smiles all around once again, the fist pumps, applauses and loud cheers kept us company all morning. The pro riders completed their event and we definitely cannot say that they were lazy on their runs! Wakeskaters were linking difficult flat tricks like big spins variations and flip tricks with impressive kicker and rail hits. Daniel Grant (THAI) took home the win in Pro Wakeskate, with a five-point advance over, Andy Kolb (GER), who took second. James Windsor (AUS) took everyone by surprise by showing some skills that brought him to the third step of the podium in front of wakeskate legend Brian Grubb (USA).

The competition kept going all afternoon on the big lake, first with the Pro Men division. The heats started strong with two past world champions, Nick Davies (GBR) and James Windsor (AUS), setting the bar high for everyone right off the bat. The riders kept wowing the crowd all day with mind-boggling tricks like a Mute grab toeside backside 720 by Emirate rider Omier Saeed (UAE).

Followed the Open Men’s features category which clearly showed that the amateur’s levels are ever rising and that competition is fierce for everyone. Open Women’s category also took place with eight friendly competitors.

The day ended on a high note with the Pro Men’s Features category and the battle sure was a tough one, considering the number of tricks and rotations that were performed on the fresh Al Forsan waters. The riders are all determined to bring as much of the $40 000 cash purse as possible.

But competition doesn’t stop there for our motivated athletes: tonight will host the Karting Grand Prix, and the enthusiasm levels are high:

'There is so much rivalry between the riders for the karting championships tonight… We all pretty much take it as seriously as the wakeboarding event!' said an excited James Windsor whom, we heard, is a good contender to the karting title. We shall see what the night brings, and tomorrow will be another day filled with excitement in Abu Dhabi, Event website