On October 4  the power & influence of cable wakeboarding will be felt rippling across Asia as the first rider leaves the starting platform.  Sukay Park in Bursa, Turkey and Freecaster.tv are teaming up to produce this event, which promises to be a fiercely serious cable contest.

With the talent lined up for this event, every last competitor will need to bring their hammers. Their mobes. Their glides. Their spins. And while they're at it - a hefty dose of luck. There's about $100,000USD in prize money being awarded - so this is no backyard rail jam (not that backyard rail jams don't hold a special place in our hearts). This is an exciting development and shows how much international reach that cable's got.

Whether you're on location or viewing this via the live stream, watch closely to see who stands at the top of the podium, sporting yellow lycra in the end.

This kicks off sharply at 8:00 am, Sunday October 4, 2009 in local, Bursa, Turkey time.
For those of us in the US, that equates to:

1:00:00am EST - Sunday October 4
and
for those of us on the West Coast, 10:00:00 p.m. Saturday October 3,

In Bursa, Turkey on October 2 the CWWC Sukay Park Worlds went down.  From the press release, FUEL has learned that the event began with absolutely beautiful weather - but things went in a frightening direction before the event was over. Picture it: the sky was blue, the sun was shining and the jumbotron was broadcasting perfectly to more than 5,000 spectators highly anticipating the final rounds of the world's best riders.

During the Junior Men's final, a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and within seconds the event venue turned dark and threatening. Wind-tossed advertising boards and tribunes were just the prelude to the main event:  the jumbotron was falling - nearly knocking down one of the towers on its decent. The cautious organizers did everything in their power to continue the competition, and did so with only a delay of one hour.

All start-lists, timetables, and live results available now as well as pictures and media!

TSR favorites Tom Fooshee won the men's wakeboard division and Bret Little won the wakeskate division, which built the suspense heading into the weekend's final event, the Team Finals. These good friends and former roommates were pitted against each other with Tom riding for Texas State and Bret Little riding for ACC (Austin Community College). After Saturday's preliminary rounds for the individual competition were finished, four teams, Texas State, ACC, the University of Texas and the University of Central Florida, advanced to the team finals. The individual competition decided which teams made it to the final four, but the final results were determined during a jam session format that had each five member team (three men wakeboarders, one female and a wakeskater) riding on the water simultaneously for 12 minutes.

The trash talking had started weeks before between the local teams. Captains recruited avid riders to take part in the competition, but it wasn't until the last day that both Texas State and ACC secured a female rider, which was an integral part to the team scores. While many of the operators at TSR attend Texas State & ACC, event organizer Witt Finley captained the UT team and UCF seem to challenge for the title in any collegiate wakeboard event.

While Texas State came out on top, the real winners were the kids from the Austin Children's Shelter who were the recipients of over $7500 raised by the weekend's events. Not only were the entry fees donated, but a large part due to the Finley family, sponsors contributed a large portion of the donation to the kids.

On the individual collegiate side of things, Callie McCool of Texas State took home the top spot for the female collegiate division while Courtney Boedeker of UT finished as runner up. Stewart Dewar and Jesse Landry both attend Texas State took second and third respectively in wakeskate to Champion Bret Little who rode for ACC. Tom Fooshee took home the men's title while Cody Johnson made another strong showing but had to settle for second and Kyle Cameron, a newcomer to the cable who has adapted his boat skills nicely, found himself on the podium for the first time with a third place finish.

Because the event was part of the Fall Festival, TSR also hosted an open wakeboard and wakeskate division for those wanting to compete again as well as those not attending college. This included high school riders and international riders from as far away as Germany. Despite the large turnout, Tom and Bret again took home the titles. While Cody Johnson also repeated his second place performance in wakeboard, Matt Davidson made some noise in the wakeskate division. Matt repeatedly stuck a huge backside 3 off the helium kicker and put pressure on Bret Little with his diverse riding. The open wakeboard division had 20 riders which included many young riders that are learning skills at an alarming rate and push the accomplished riders to continue pushing the sport.

TSR would like to thank the Finley Family and all of the staff, sponsors and riders that made this weekend possible, which in turn helped raise money for the Austin Children's Center!

Team Results

1. TX STATE - 415pts - Tom Fooshee, Sam Scoggins, Hunter Brack, Stewart Dewar, Callie McCool
   
2. ACC - 395pts - Cody Johnson, Kyle cameron, Roland Keller, Bret Little, Gabriela Elizondo
   
3. UT - 375pts - Witt Finley, Steven Cahail, Keagan LeBlanc, Courtney Boedeker
   
4. UCF - 315pts - Mark Soltys, Aaron Abel, Zach Lindamond, Aaron Abel

College Women Wakeboard Individual Finals
1. Callie McCool - TX STATE
2. Courtney Boedeker - TEXAS
3. Gabriella Elizondo - ACC

College Wakeskate Individual Finals
1. Bret Little - ACC
2. Stewart Dewar - TX STATE
3. Jesse Landry - TX STATE

College Men Wakeboard Individual Finals
1. Tom Fooshee - TX STATE - 85
2. Cody Johnson - ACC - 75
3. Kyle Cameron - ACC - 63
4. Sam Scoggins - TX STATE - 56
5. Hunter Brack - TX STATE - 46
6. Witt Finley - TEXAS - 45
7. Steven Cahail - TEXAS - 38
8. Mark Soltys - UCF - 36
9. John Powell - TX STATE - 30

Open Men Wakeskate Individual Finals
1. Bret Little
2. Matt Davidson
3. David Roehm
4. Stewart Dewar
5. Zach Roede
6. Jesse Landry

Open Men Wakeboard Individual Finals
1. Tom Fooshee - 86
2. Cody Johnson - 78
3. Sam Scoggins - 51
4. Kyle Cameron - 50
5. Connor Shepherd - 42
6. Hunter Brack - 41
7. Donald Konomos - 35
8. Thorston Berneclier - 31
9. John Deere - 28
10. Roland Keller - 24
11. Bryan Wogrin - 23
12. Holland Finley - 20

FUEL TV has received word today that Alliance Magazine's UK division, in cooperation with Offaxis, will put up a temporary System 2.0 Wake Park in Glasfryn, North Wales from October 9 to November 1.

Well - temporary as in 9 days, so you'll definitely have a chance to ride it if you are:

1. In England
2. Can get to the event!

This Saturday, October 24 they'll begin running the System 2.0 until the potentially chilly first day of November. The System 2.0 will be installed at a lake at Glasfryn Parc, North Wales, about 12 miles outside of Abersoch.

The area is not new to big wake events and news.  It is home to Europe’s popular Wakeboard event - Relentless Wakestock - and is a hugely popular area for boating and wakeboarding.

As for The System 2.0 cable setup, it will allow anyone new to the sport that has stared in awe at talented riders to give it a shot.  Additionally, the isolated wake park will give local riders an opportunity to ride in calm water as opposed to the often choppy sea that they are used to fighting.

Riders will also get a chance to hit some kickers and rails. We at FUEL TV officially endorse and recommend helmets for any first timers hitting rails and kickers (and everyone else for that matter). Please take this advice from a first-hand victim of non-helmeted rail riding.

Over the course of the nine days this setup is available, you will be able to have sessions on the cable for just £15 an hour or £50 for a block session of up to 4 people. If you have your own equipment, bring it along!  If you’re needing a wetsuit, wakeboard, vest and helmet to rent, this is perfect for you as they are all free.

Book your session in advance here or by calling 01758 713407. Booking is recommended to avoid being turned away if the park is full, but you can just rock up and ride, or if you’d like to just go along to watch then feel free to head over at any time during the 9 days as pro wakeboarders will also be on hand to demonstrate what it has to offer.

You can park at Glasfyn Parc, just off the A499 Caernarfon to Pwllheli road, famous for its go karting and 10-pin bowling and then just follow the signs to the lake.

This is an opportunity not just for the complete beginner, but for the more advance riders to progress. The floating rail is available for you to hit for the first time in any Welsh waters or you can just improve your technique by using the short line to learn inverts and glides. Professional instruction will be provided by Offaxis Wakeboard Academy based in Abersoch.

For the complete beginner, the Offaxis professional riders (are all qualified BWS Wakeboard instructors) will be there to help you find your legs and feel at ease. The atmosphere will be relaxed and non-intimidating and the instructors who have many years worth of teaching experience behind them supporting you all the way. There are also full changing facilities with showers, a Pro Shop stocking clothing and equipment from leading brands along with food and drinks.

This is an exciting opportunity, and we hope many of you can make it out to this event. System 2.0 setups don't show up everywhere quite yet and we're still trying to get some time on one. 

Enjoy it, Glasfryn, North Wales!

McCormick’s Cable Park has become a revered place for left-forward wakeskaters and wakeboarders, and is a place that FUEL TV plans to check out on an upcoming trip to Florida. Boasting towers that are eight feet higher than those of typical cable parks, McCormick's is a hot spot for many riders (of all stances) who seek some rail and kicker practice and a distinctive clockwise-rotating experience that sets it apart from typical cable parks of the same size.

If the draw of the cable isn't enough, don't forget that McCormick's also has Nautiques on hand, as well as a couple of PWC's.

Oakley team riders will be there Thursday, November 12th from 12pm-4pm to ride, meet and greet.

Oakley and McCormick's are offering this public invitation to ride with and meet the team. Here is your chance to spend some time on and off the water with one of the winningest teams in wakeskating and wakeboarding!

Oakley team riders Aaron Rathy, Keith Lyman, George Daniels, Danny Hampson, Nick Taylor, Oliver Derome and Nicola Butler will be on-site. The schedule includes a autograph signing at 3:00pm. Raffles and giveaways of Oakley eyewear and apparel will also be happening.

Grab your wakeboard, your wakeskate (or both!), and head over to Tampa to take advantage of this great opportunity.

The park is located just outside of Tampa, Florida. More information and directions are available at McCormick’s Cable Park's Web site.

FUEL TV learned today that in 2010, the WWA Wake Park Worlds will be in yet another exciting location: this time it's Turkey.  The nod was given to Hip-Notics Cable Wake Park, one of the largest and most progressive parks in the world will be hosting the event in Antalya, Turkey from Monday, September 27th - Saturday, October 2nd, 2010.

We at FUEL TV plan to provide the same level of excellent coverage that we offered this October during the event.

Located only a couple hours away from Europe's major cities on the southern coast of Turkey, Hip-Notics consists of three separate lakes, a new obstacle park, pro shop, video room, trampoline, volleyball, restaurant and other onsite amenities. This state-of-the-art facility will be a perfect fit for the World Championships, all accented by the ideal climate, the warm and friendly atmosphere and world class accommodations found in Antalya.

The WWA Wake Park World Championships is the leading and most prestigious event in the world of cable wakeboarding. As the true World Championships, recognized and supported by the industry, athletes and worldwide media, the WWA Worlds determines who the World Champion will be each year in 18 different divisions. It continues to set the standard and pave the way for overall progression in wake sports.

In 2009, fans from all over the globe logged on to the live webcast and lined the beaches at the CamSur Watersports Complex in the Philippines for the World Championships. The event had over 250 riders representing 21 different countries. It was the largest collective wakeboarding event to date and brought together riders from all across the world to crown the World Champions in each respective division.

The WWA Wake Park World Championships in Antalya, Turkey will also be one of the stops on the 2010 WWA Wake Park World Series (WPWS). In this global series, pro riders earn cash prizes and gather points at each stop to determine an overall WWA Wake Park World Series winner.

Stay tuned to thewwa.com for more information on the 2010 WWA Wake Park World Championships and the WWA Wake Park World Series (WPWS). For more information on Hip-Notics, please visit hip-notics.com.

The World Wakeboard Association (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.

FUEL TV is asking you today, where will you be on Friday? No plans? We suggest that if you are near Orlando's OWC (Orlando Watersports Complex), get yourself there this Friday to see a one of a kind rail unveiled.

OWC and Nautique have worked together to produce it. If you are there this Friday from 6:00PM – 8:00PM at Orlando Watersports Complex in Orlando, Florida, you'll see “The Unveiling.”

There are other perks too. On hand will be Team Nautique demos & autograph signing, music by D.J. Droptop, an open rail session, a best trick contest, and of course giveaways.

So go ride with Team Nautique at OWC for free! The best trick contest is from 7:30PM – 8:00PM, and the winner receives a Slingshot Wakeboard!

FUEL TV learned today that Liquid Force and McCormick’s Cable Park have inked an exclusive partnership deal.  The deal makes Liquid Force the new official wakeboard, binding, wakeskate, and life vest brand for McCormick’s pro shop and rental office.

“We are so excited to be teaming up with the top brand within our industry,” said McCormick’s owner Michael McCormick.  “Not only can we offer our guests first class boards with the latest Liquid Force design innovations, but also Liquid Force’s other quality products, such as vests, board shorts, t-shirts, hats, towels and ropes and handles, which are all available for purchase in our pro shop.”

“We are really pumped to start a long-term partnership with the southeast’s top cable wake park,” said Liquid Force Vice President of Sales and Marketing Don Wallace. “McCormick’s is one of the country’s top cable parks and is sure to grow the sport throughout the entire Southeast.  With so many of our top pros within driving distance, McCormick’s is the perfect training ground for Team LF!  We are stoked to help contribute to the future success of the park.”  Liquid Force will have multiple branded rails, kickers and obstacles at McCormick’s Seffner, FL facility.

At McCormick’s, both first-timers and experienced riders can wakeboard, wakeskate, water ski and kneeboard with or without a boat. On the cable, riders are pulled around the 10-acre lake at approximately 20 miles per hour by a circulating cable system that runs 35 feet above the water.  There is also a boat lake on-site that is available for lessons and training.

McCormick’s Cable Park is located about an hour from Orlando and 30 minutes from Tampa.  McCormick’s is open at noon on Monday and Wednesday through Friday, closed Tuesdays, and from 10am till dark on weekends.

FUEL TV has learned that The WWA  announced the dates and (most) locations for the 2010 WWA Wake Park World Series (WPWS) today. In its third year, this is the first series of its kind with an international field of professional wakeboarders competing at cable parks all across the globe.

The U.S.A. will be kicking off the WPWS for 2010 in early June. The event is scheduled for June 5th and 6th at a park in the United States to be determined. The series will then swing over to Europe as the Netherlands will host their first ever WPWS event. The Protest Cable Call will be held at the Down Under Cableway in Nieuwegein, Netherlands with its new state of the art facility.

One of the staple events in the WPWS, the T-Mobile Extreme Playgrounds (TMEP) will again bring the largest crowds with a variety of on-site activities including live bands and a BMX contest. TMEP brings more than 6,000 people on-site to watch the action of the WPWS take place.

One of the most talked about parks in the World will be hosting its first major event as the WWA Wake Park World Championships go to the Hip-Notics Cable Park in Antalya, Turkey. The coveted title of WWA Wake Park World Champion will be up for grabs again, as riders in professional and amateur divisions battle in what is known as the true World Championship for wakeboarding and wakeskating.

The final stop of the WPWS will be held at the most progressive wakeboard facility in the world, the CamSur Watersports Complex. This event will be the final stop of the WWA Wake Park World Series towed by the cable, and the WWA Wakeboard World Series behind the boat. It will encompass 4 different disciplines of the sport to crown an Ultimate Wake Champion. This is the only event in the world where riders compete in a boat contest, a cable contest, and a System 2.0 contest to earn points that will determine who is the most diverse wakeboarder in the sport.

The 2010 WWA Wake Park World Series Schedule

• Stop #1 - June 5-6: USA - location TBD
  
  
• Stop #2 - Aug 11-15: The Protest Cable Call Down Under Cableway, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
  
  
• Stop #3 - Aug 28-29: T-Mobile Extreme Playgrounds, Hamburg, Germany
  
  
• Stop #4 - Sep 27th-Oct 2nd: WWA Wake Park World Championships, Hip-Notics, Antalya, Turkey
  
  
• Stop #5 - Oct 27th-31st: Ultimate Wake Championship, CamSur Watersports Complex, CamSur, Philippine

On February 13 & 14th Texas Ski Ranch hosted the seventh annual FreezeRide to kick off the 2010 season. After a long off season, FreezeRide always launches the Tournament season at TSR and reminds us just how fun TSR can be when the sun is shining and people are riding!

This year riders from as far away as California, Minnesota and Florida joined the always-present group from Kansas City Watersports that are anxious for the start of their season. Local riders such as Tom Fooshee and Bret Little had an ever-increasing group of riders that made it even more difficult to defend their home site. Aaron Reed is still recovering from an injury that has kept him sidelined, but was a huge part of FreezeRide by hosting the second of three Obscura demos for this spring. Obscura brought in heavy hitters like Danny Hampson and Grant Roberts to promote the new line from Liquid Force. While Danny was also recovering from injuries, Grant competed in both the boat and cable competitions whenever he wasn’t tied up with the wakeskate demo that was being held on the Rixen Little Bro two tower system.

The morning began with frost on the grass and the competitors being able to see their own breath. FreezeRide lived up to it’s name with morning temperatures in the 30’s, but as the sun rose over the cable lakes, the temperatures climbed and the smooth glass conditions were ideal. Marshall Lewis (TSR) distanced himself from the other intermediate riders while Ryan Sanders (KCW) was able to beat out the advanced field made up predominantly of Kansas riders. 

The pro divisions were as impressive, with most riders showing no signs of rust from the offseason. Bret Little uncharacteristically had two falls, which opened the door for the rest of the wakeskate field. While Oury Yarbrough landed flip trick after flip trick it was Grant Roberts backside three and backside bigger spin that took the title. Grant had won boat competitions at TSR before but this was his first ever win on the cable. In the pro wakeboard division 80% of the riders rode a board that had Tom Fooshee’s name on it which may explain why he walked away with the FreezeRide title. 2009 USA Wakeboard National Champion Cody Johnson rode well and Josh Rice, 2005 World Games Champion, made a strong showing after a long lay off to finish second and third respectively.  While the three riders are among the top cable riders in the world, Tom showed that his domination of the WWA World Series over the past two years will be showing no signs of slowing down for the 2010 season.

While the action was going on outside, things inside were heating up with the 2010 Spring Break Fashion Show. TSR displayed the latest fashions from Nike 6.0, RVCA, Reef, Volcom, Billabong and many more. The shop also hosted a “Style Your Sole” event where customers could hand paint their TOM’s shoes with whatever unique style they desired.

On Sunday TSR hosted their first boat lake competition in some time. This was the first event in which TSR utilized three different lakes for riding, if you don’t include our winch pond. The event was pulled by the Nike 6.0 X-star from MasterCraft.  Marshall Lewis and Marshall Waters took home the intermediate and advanced wakeboard boat titles in the first events of the day. In the wakeskate division Oury was able to dominate behind the boat and beat out Grant Roberts who had won the cable event. Bret Little was able to salvage the tournament with a podium spot and third place finish. On the wakeboard side of things Tom Fooshee was able to edge out the defending champion Brett Hickey for yet another title.

If Tom wasn’t such a nice guy we might get tired of seeing him on top of the podium and writing his name on the checks!

With the boat lake back in action, a tradition continued that TSR began back in 2003 with Cable, Boat and Winch events all in the same weekend! If you missed FreezeRide there is much more to come in 2010. On April 23-25 TSR will host the Corpus Christi Invitational as part of the Texas International Boat Show with over 40,000 spectators and $15,000 in prize money.  Also at Texas Ski Ranch they  have the 8th annual Cablestock competition and festival coming up May 7-9. Wakeboarding, live music and girls in bikinis walking the beach are just a few of the many attractions that make up Cablestock. 

RESULTS
  Pro Wakeboard Cable (Top 5)  
  1.   Tom Fooshee  
  2.  Cody Johnson  
  3.   Josh Rice  
  4.   Kyle Cameron  
  5.   Ryan Smith  
         
  Pro Wakeskate Cable (Top 5)  
  1.   Grant Roberts  
  2.   Oury Yarbeough  
  3.   Matt Davidson  
  4.   Bret Little  
  5.   David Roehm  
         
  Pro Wakeboard Boat (Top 5)  
  1.   Tom Fooshee  
  2.   Bret Hickey  
  3.   Logan Ferris  
  4.   JB O'Neill  
  5.   Jake Sonnevelt  
         
  Pro Wakeskate Boat (Top 5)  
  1.   Oury Yarbrough  
  2.   Grant Roberts  
  3.   Bret Little  
  4.   Collin Gee  
  5.   David Roehm  
         
  Intermediate Cable (Top 5)  
  1.   Marshall Lewis  
  2.   Colton Moran  
  3.   Kyle Patterson  
  4.   Colby Minch  
  5.   John Brookes  
         
  Advanced Cable (Top 5)  
  1.   Ryan Sanders  
  2.   Holland Finley  
  3.   Jade Whirley  
  4.   Bryan Perez  
  5.   Collin Haas  
         
  Intermediate Boat (Top 3)  
  1.   Marshall Lewis  
  2.   Bryan Perez  
  3.   Austin Dodson  
         
  Advanced Boat (Top 2)  
  1.   Marshall Waters  
  2.   Ryan Smith