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WATERSKI Magazine
WIRED
In the March issue of WaterSki magazine, some pros tackle
a cable park for the first time in their lives: Chris Parrish and
Drew Ross. We also check out the scene at Orlando Watersports
Complex and Texas Ski Ranch.
Here, we expand a little and show you some great photos from
(clap, clap, clap, clap) “deep in the heart of
Texas.”
According to Rene Hofmann, manager of Orlando Watersports
Complex, cable parks have been popular in Europe for years. The
advent of wakeboarding, though, has pushed the development of cable
parks here in the states. The way it works is that a lake is
outfitted with an overhead cable, held up by large rigging. Ropes
are attached to this constantly looping cable by way of carriers,
pulling the skier or boarder in the water at a constant speed
without a wake or boat. Of course, if requested, boats can be
rented.
Texas Ski Ranch
Texas Ski Ranch is the cable gem of the West—there’s
nothing else like it west of the Mississippi. They feature skiing
and wakeboarding around the cable, an expansive pro shop and snack
center, and a large skate park. The place is overrun with
kids—but that’s how owners Christine and Paul Bialick
like it.
From the brochures: The cableway tows waterskiers and
wakeboarders over circulating cable suspended above the water with
five towers. Currently, there are only five cable waterski systems
in the United States. The starting dock and operating stand lie on
the outside of the ski/wakeboard course. The skiers start from a
ramp which slopes down to the water level. It is NOT necessary to
stop the cableway to attach additional skiers onto the circulating
cable. The operator can regulate the speed of the cableway from 14
mph to 25 mph. Up to six people can ski or wakeboard at the same
time. The cableway is perfect for beginners, as well as the more
experienced athlete with TSR’s challenging kickers and
sliders. Try this exciting new concept in watersports at the only
extreme sports complex in Texas.
Camps: TSR offers multiple sport camps. Standard ski and
wakeboard camps, co-ed, are geared toward all ages and all levels.
Whether you are a young beginner or an advanced wakeboarder you
will learn a variety of new things. The different aspects of
teaching include: wakeboarding, slalom skiing, barefooting, swivel
skiing, hydrofoiling, kneeboarding, jumping, trick skiing, and wake
skating. They use only professional skiers and wakeboarders to
coach their camps. Many of the coaches perform at SeaWorld when not
coaching at TSR.
The wakeboard training camp specializes in wakeboard and
wakeskate instruction. To do this, they go for the biggest wake
possible—which is the opposite of what skiers want, thus the
separation.
The following account from TSR says it all: By Thursday
afternoon, as the riders circle the cable lake, hitting the kicker
and sailing through the air like pros, one clean landing after
another, it’s hard to believe that four days ago, some of
these kids could barely get off the dock. Camp TSR. Cable day. The
music is blaring from the snack shack, and riders are lined up on
the starting dock, comparing stories, most of them true, of the
killer tricks they’ve landed this week. Local kids have saved
their space for the day on the beach, skaters are rolling back and
forth along the sidewalk fro mthe snack shack to the skate park,
tourists are staked out on the porch with their mouths hanging open
in disbelief. The smell of sunscreen mixes with the barbeque grill
cooling down from lunch. Are we in south Texas or southern
California? If it weren’t for the beat-up straw cowboy hats
on a couple of the coaches, you’d never know.
U.S.A. Water Ski Press release
Texas Ski Ranch To Host Three Major
Wakeboarding Championships in 2003
Events to take place July – September in New
Braunfels, Texas
POLK CITY, Fla. ¾ Texas Ski Ranch in
New Braunfels, Texas, will host three major USA Water Ski
wakeboarding championships in 2003: the Cable Wakeboard National
Championships, July 19-20; the Malibu USA Wakeboard Championships,
Aug. 16-17; and the Collegiate Wakeboard National Championships,
Sept. 27-28. The American Wakeboard Association (AWA), a sport
division of USA Water Ski, will sanction the events.
”Texas Ski Ranch, with its central location and emphasis
on extreme sports, is a perfect fit for USA Water Ski's
championship wakeboarding events,” said Steve McDermeit, USA Water
Ski's executive director. “It is my hope that our partnership will
continue to benefit the organizations, the city of New Braunfels
and, most importantly, the sport, well into the future.”
In its third year, the Cable Wakeboard National
Championships will feature competition in cable wakeboarding and
cable wakeskating. In these events, a cableway tows riders from
circulating cable suspended above the water. Already well
established in Europe, Asia and Australia, competition wakeboarding
on the cable is gaining popularity in the United States, evidenced
by the launch of the USA Cable Wakeboard Tour in 2002. Texas Ski
Ranch is one of five cable water ski systems in the United
States.
The fourth annual Malibu USA Wakeboard Championships will
provide wakeboard athletes from around the nation an opportunity to
take their skills to the next level and be crowned national
champions. The event will feature wakeboarding competition in 17
age and gender divisions.
In its third year, the Collegiate Wakeboard National
Championships will feature the United States' top collegiate riders
and wakeboard teams, as they compete head-to-head for national
titles. Wakeboard teams may comprise up to 10 members from a
university team, college club or technical school team. National
titles will be awarded in five categories.
Texas Ski Ranch is a 72-acre extreme sports complex
centered around its cable and boat lake. It was created to give
people a place to participate in a variety of extreme sports from
wakeboarding to skateboarding. Texas Ski Ranch plans on adding
motocross and rock climbing by 2004 to make it the only facility of
its kind in the world.
”We are excited to be able to host three of the
tournaments in USA Water Ski's national competition series,” said
Blake Hess, Texas Ski Ranch Cable & Skate Manager. “I think by
hosting the events at a facility like Texas Ski Ranch, we can
propel these tournaments to unprecedented levels and help to expand
the sport of wakeboarding.” For more information on the Texas Ski
Ranch, visit www.texasskiranch.com.
