Wakeboarding clinic ‘spreads the love’

Yes, the 28th rendition of the summer Olympics is underway, but no, one of the world’s fastest-growing sports—wakeboarding—will not be seen in Athens.
But it was seen here Saturday as former resident Tressa Main and her team of wakeboarders, the “Freeriders” along with “Hangtime,” organized the town’s first-ever wakeboarding clinic.
Main, 31, one of more than three million wakeboarders worldwide, came with a mission to “spread the love and open the doors of wakeboarding to Fort Frances.”
And after the day-long clinic, which had a full capacity of 18 participants, it was mission accomplished.
“I feel we have definitely spread the love. I think it was a great success and I think everyone is really happy and stoked about it, and I can see it progressing in Fort Frances and that’s great,” said Main, a pioneer for women’s wakeboarding in Canada since taking up the sport 15 years ago.
“I can see endless possibilities here and there are a lot of people in Fort that could help to contribute to get this sport moving and get people riding,” she added.
The “Freeriders” of Winnipeg, along with “Hangtime” from Lake of the Woods, joined efforts to teach the participants various skills from the basics for the beginners to the specifics for the more experienced.
“It helps us out a lot because they give us different tips and everything. I mean just from today I’ve progressed so much and it’s helped me get my form so much better,” said Sean Wiersema, 16, who wakeboards four times a week and has been involved in the sport for two years.
Wakeboarding has such a unique feeling surrounding it that it cannot be simply defined through words or even pictures. Rather, one must experience it firsthand and then—and only then—can you begin to understand the “lifestyle” that revolves around this evolving sport.
“Fun, fashionable, cool, exciting, and athletic,” enthused Duncan Jessiman, 31, when asked to describe the sport that has been part of his life for 13 years.
“It’s the best of everything combined and it’s just an awesome time.”
It’s about the blazing music that vibrates from the speakers on the boat. It’s about the clothes that hang baggy from one’s body. It’s about the style, the look, and the talk.’
And when you mix all those ingredients together, the byproduct you get is wakeboarding.
“You can’t really explain it,” said Connar Ward, who at just 16 is a member of Canada’s national team and was an instructor at Saturday’s clinic. “But the lifestyle of a wakeboarder is hip-hop, baggy clothes, and just having style.
“We’re just steezing.
“Wakeboarding definitely has the best atmosphere out of any sport. It’s basically always a big party and I’m going to do it until I can’t walk,” Ward vowed.
The clinic consisted of two sessions (morning and afternoon), with an emphasis on one-on-one instruction. The “Freeriders” hauled with them a world-class Tigé wakeboarding boat (wakeboarding boats create special wakes where they jump from) and gave instruction in anything and everything involving the sport.
“The main thing was for them to learn the basics. Cutting, edging, rope length, and stuff like that,” said Jessiman, who is the president of “Freeriders,” founder of Bonafide Clothing, and was the owner of the boarding school “Hangtime” before selling it to Lonn Vokey, a professional instructor who also helped with the clinic.
“Those things are the building blocks to taking it to the next level and once they get that, the other things come a lot more naturally and easy,” he added.
“Most of the kids had never been behind an actually wakeboarding boat or used the proper equipment, so we really went through everything,” echoed Main, who, along with Ward, performed a demo showcasing their refined skills, which brought looks of awe from their students as they watched.
“The stuff they do is so cool and I wouldn’t even try it because I would be too scared,” said Jessica Badiuk, 13, who recently started wakeboarding and will continue to participate in the sport.
“It gives you motivation to want to do it more and looking forward to doing some of the stuff that they do,” added Wiersema.
The jumps Main and Ward performed made them look more like super heroes than athletes. They cut through the air and climbed heights of at least 15 feet from the water all the while mixing turns, twists, and grabs that brought goose bumps to the forearms from those who watched.
“I rode like a rock star. I felt really good and it was all because I was back in my hometown riding with all the kids from Fort. I was feeling the love and it was simply awesome,” said Main, who’s captured a number of provincial titles in Manitoba and also has done well in national and international competitions.
“It’s good to be recognized but it takes a lot of work,” noted Ward. “I’ve been training for three years, but the thing is that even when you’re training, you’re having fun.
“It’s not like a football or hockey practice where everyone is all uptight, you basically do your own thing and there is no pressure. No pressure whatsoever,” he stressed.
Main and Jessiman, considered to be pioneers in the sport, never had clinics “back in their day” to teach them—and take it as a responsibility to give back to a sport that has given so much to them.
“For a day clinic to have 20 kids? This is probably as good as it gets. We could’ve booked more if we had more boats, but this was great and we’d love to come back next year,” said Jessiman, who still is unsure if they will be able to afford to come back next year and is looking for sponsors from Fort Frances.
“I came into this with no expectations and I didn’t know what to expect. But everyone’s happy and the turnout was great, and I think it was quite successful and we’ll have to do it up again next year,” said Main.
“I hope than I can contribute,” she added. “I’ve got some things that I can offer and I’m hopeful they appreciate it, and I think they did because everyone had a blast and I feel privileged to do it.”
The clinic’s potential certainly wasn’t lost on its participants, as all involved would jump at the chance to coming back to another.
“I would definitely go if they came back next year,” said Wiersema. “I’ve just got to keep going as much as I can.
“Just keep trying different things, and seeing them do it makes you want to do it so much more and do more than what you could,” he added.